


looking for the answer.

by superkt1



Series: my scrolling horror show [1]
Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Alcohol, Brotp, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, DedSec - Freeform, During Canon, F/F, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Hacking, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, LGBTQ+ characters, Original Character(s), Partners in Crime, Swearing, Underage Drinking, im gonna tag more as i go!, somewhat canon compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2020-10-13 17:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 75,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20586011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superkt1/pseuds/superkt1
Summary: Are we human? Or are we dancer? My sign is vital, my hands are cold(human, the killers)when the seventeen year old met the Vigilante of Chicago, she knew she was about to get caught up in something interesting.when the Vigilante met the teenage daughter of a corporate executive, he had no idea the power she held.it was supposed to be a nonchalant deal. she supplied information about Blume, he helped teach her how to be a real hacker.but about a year later, the world has other plans. pulled into a world of danger, she's determined to help him get justice for his niece and sister, whatever it takes.





	1. author's note before we begin!

alrighty hi, im not used to doing author's notes but i figured id sort some stuff out before we start this little adventure!

\- i dont actually write like this i use normal grammar and stuff but this is a note so who cares  
\- im already writing the sequel to this! im kinda writing them at the same time, but yeah there will be a second one  
\- as i stated in the tags, there is no main romance in this book. there will be in the sequel, and there will be some references to stuff/possible suggestive scenes later, but nothing too extreme.  
\- i write incredibly canon compliantly, meaning i will pull stuff directly from missions and cutscenes. that doesn't mean that everything is 100% canon though  
\- i will trigger warning in the notes if something extreme happens to come up  
\- the name of the series is from the bastille song "doom days," and all the chapter titles are song lyrics  
\- feel free to ask questions in the comments! as long as it isnt terribly spoiler-y i will probably answer it

other than that, thank you for reading and i hope you enjoy!

\- katie


	2. introduction, part 1- fill my cup with endless ambition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _ 'Cause I've been wondering, when you gonna see I'm not the same? I've been questioning, when you gonna see I'm not apart of your machine? _
> 
> (machine, imagine dragons)
> 
> the secrets and solo work pay off for once, but in the form of someone, not something.

The girl walks into her foyer, sighing as she can hear her dad on the phone again. "Yeah, I know. I'll be there." She can hear him muttering through the device as she pulls her white hood off, letting it fall against her back. 

"Welcome home, Miss Lidia." The maid greets her as she offers to take her bag. 

"Oh Fiona, you don't have to do that." She responds, waving her off with a sweet smile. The maid shakes her head with a laugh before walking off, leaving Lidia with her things as she stands in the walkway. The house doesn't look like it belongs to a millionaire on the outside; but once inside, the lavish decor makes it impossible not to note the wealth that covers the room.

And Lidia _ hates _ it.

It isn't that she doesn't like the design of the house, or the color scheme or whatnot. The cream colored walls are accompanied by paintings directly across from the front door, as well as copies of awards Blume has won. The railing up the stairs is a beautiful white wood, complimenting the dark floors and baseboards. To her left is the rest of the living room, expensive leather couches in an L shape around a wall mounted TV that sits parallel to the door. The kitchen follows, pots and pans hanging in nice rows, then blending into the dining room with plush chairs as an arch opening sits at the middle of the wall on the right side of the room. This leads into a hallway that showcases the doors to the guest bedroom, a bathroom and _another_ guest bedroom.

All of this looks amazing, and hell, if it was someone else's house, Lidia probably wouldn't care. It wasn't the house in the least-

It's the man the place belongs to.

Her dad, the great Jack Hadinson, CFO of Blume corporation. Her entire life she grew up in Chicago, surrounded by tech and countless amounts of rich business people. Out of this, she taught herself her own form of respect, like her own personal vendetta against what _ he _ tried to turn her into; for instance, she never lets Fiona take her bag. Not only does she feel bad for the maid already, but she never likes anyone else handling her equipment. 

It's been almost a month since she had originally hacked her school’s security system. Cypress High School, in the Oak Ridge School District, made headlines for weeks after. Her moniker and message was plastered on the news with the story-  _ “High School District Unsecured After Cyber-Attack, Perpetrator Known as 'Vit@l.” _ While it was an adrenaline rush to know her work was finally counting for something, terror was also completely present, as her dad made remarks about wanting to throw the perpetrator in jail. 

Nevertheless, she works with the same routine. Come home, do whatever homework was left from the day, check the DedSec forms and test out new hacks and software. It may seem boring to some people, but for her, it’s all she wants. As a senior, 17 and already on a pedestal like her dad, everyone asks her where she plans to go to college and what she wants to do in her life. Every time, there's some excuse about majoring in computer sciences, because the truth is her heart lies with DedSec. She's looked up to them since their origin, and once she got on the hacking trail, she never once considered going back. 

As of right now, she works on a scouting-type job because of HaDoCk. His Zombi virus is starting to spread around California, and many followers and members of DedSec are trying to keep it from getting anywhere else. So far, she has a lead on a hacker that may have access to the virus, but she isn't sure if he plans to use it. She brings her things to her room upstairs (almost directly across from the stairway, on the second out of three floors), not even bothering to greet her dad as she shuts the door behind her.

As she walks inside, she stops for a moment to look in the mirror at herself. Her brown hair was parted on the right, flipping and tumbling down the left side of her face. Blue eyes, a soft color like the sky, stare back at her as she surveys. Her black and white striped shirt, black ripped jeans and Converse compliment her white hoodie, the strings uneven but not enough to provoke fixing.

Her phone goes off, and she quickly answers it as she sets up her laptop on her desk. _"Hey Vital, you got anything?"_ She surveys the clutter of loose clothes across her bed and random knickknacks across the floor and her desk, focusing on her chicken scratched notes left folded in a corner of her desk. It may sound incredibly dangerous to leave information lying around like that, but Fiona knows not to touch her desk and her father doesn't care enough.

"Other than that one lead on the hacker, no." She responds, booting up her system by plugging her external drives in as she speaks.

The other voice sighs. _"Couldn't get much information on him, like us, he pulled himself out of ctOS. So we can't do much recon, and I'm at a loss from way out here."_

She nods to herself, knowing that the hacker is most likely in Chicago, so it's best for her to confront the problem head-on. She can't get an exact location, but it feels like he's close to Parker Square, where she lives. "Think I might as well just tackle it. No time like the present." 

_"Just be careful. You don't know what you're dealing with."_

"Thanks Hawt Sauce. I'll be in touch."

* * *

Hacking into a new system is always nerve-wracking. For starters, Lidia never knows what's waiting for her. There could be traps and firewalls designed for people like her; and at this point, she's sure she'll encounter something. This guy clearly knows his way around tech, so anything can jump out at her. She sits intently at her desk, weaving her way through the terminal, looking for any signs of a plan or a copy of the virus. If she can get a hold of a version, she might be able to pick it apart and make some sort of blocker.

Her eyes go wide as someone enters the terminal. _ Nice try. _ The message on her screen reads. The person on the other end is trying to communicate through the terminal, and she isn't sure what to do. Curious now as to what he has to say, she allows the next one through without a rebuttal. _ Were you trying to get caught? _ She freezes. Oh god, what if he was one of her father's security guards? She shouldn't have opened the portal, she knew it. It was a one-way ticket to trouble.

_ Are you receiving me? _

** Yeah, ** she finally replies. Might as well show common courtesy. 

_ Then answer my question. _ The person responds, and she can almost feel the domineering presence.

Lidia takes a shaky breath. ** No, ** she starts to respond. ** If anything, I was trying my hardest to stay discreet. **

The man on the other end takes a light gasp. _ Your system is running an older version of ctOS, but your machine is updated. How did you do that? _ He thinks to himself as he sends the next message over. Whoever this is has their ducks in a row, albeit not the most low profile. 

She opens the window to reply, but nothing comes out. What does she even say in this situation? Did she tell the truth? She doesn't even know who she's speaking to! For all she knows, it could be her father with a VPN or some crazy router she doesn't even know about. She has no idea.

_ You've got guts, I'll give you that. _ He responds, taking a chance on what he assumed was a newbie. _ Why don't you come back once you've got better programs? _

“What?” She couldn't keep the word from tumbling from her lips. 

Before she can respond, another message is sent from the mystery person. _ Get further in my system. Then we'll talk. _ In almost an instant after this, Lidia is forcefully kicked from the system, turning the opening into a patch and essentially locking her out the hard way. 

"Shit..." She mumbles aloud before fumbling with her phone, calling her last contact. 

"Hey Hawt Sauce? I think I might be onto something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lidia's house is based off an actual house in parker square. you cant go in it but it's definitely there lol
> 
> anyways, i dont have an upload schedule, but im trying to be timely about this?? so anyways, see ya when i see ya, and i cant wait to continue this!


	3. introduction, part 2- i wanna make 'em scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _ I'm bitin' my nails, I'm too young to go to jail, It's kinda funny _
> 
> (bellyache, billie eilish)
> 
> meeting up with a stranger she met online while literally illegally hacking into his systems, when he's one of the most dangerous men in the city. what can go wrong?

The crisp February air blows in as a soft breeze through her window. Months have gone by since her first run-in with the mysterious hacker she got caught by. Since, she's been working day and night to make a program worth drooling over so she doesn't disappoint. The sun isn't even up, but she is, getting herself prepared to prove her worth. 

Lidia opens the terminal and is almost too fast for her own good. She types everything in and runs her software, data mining and combing through the information. For a moment, she sits back, waiting for some sort of fight back, but nothing happens. Her programs run, grabbing things she doesn't even plan on using. "Wow." She says with a soft sigh, completely shocked that everything works accordingly. As much as she plans, something is always bound to go wrong, and this almost feels too easy. She's sure that she won't get caught, but instead, she drops a clear message in the form of a pop-up.

On the other side, the man gasps as the message blocks his screen. "Are you sure you exist?" _That hacker._ They were back, programs much better than last time. He doesn't even know who it is, but they definitely could be dangerous if not taken care of. He quickly opens the terminal and sets up what he needs to retaliate.

* * *

_ Hello? _ He sends through as a test.

** Who marks their computer as Fox? ** She fires back quickly. 

He laughs as he types. _ You came back; honestly, I'm surprised. _

** Well, you did ask me to. ** She replies, thinking to herself as she sends it. Why did he want her to try again? Did he know something she didn't? Probably, but no matter what, there has to be some motive here.

He chuckles as he shakes his head. _ Not wrong. How did you make your program? _

Well, she decides, I have no choice. ** I used an old ctOS operating system I had lying around and tweaked it a little. I reworked some of the internal processing and edited it for my own purposes. It can comb through files and pick out keywords, like an algorithm for an ad service. Why do you ask? And who even are you? ** It's her turn to ask the questions. 

_ I already told you. Fox. _ He says without a second thought. She can feel fear rising in her body, knowing she could be talking to a random associate of her dad's- and she'd have no idea. He could have found her pathway, she could be seriously ratting herself out right now, and she can't take it back now.

** That's not an answe- ** She starts to type before coming to the realization of who he is. "SHIT." She says loudly, shocking even herself as she quickly covers her mouth. No one is up anyways, but the instinct to keep quiet is still there. ** The fox, as in the vigilante? Great, I'm screwed. ** She registers the trouble she's in, running her fingers through her hair in stress. 

_ No worries. You fell right into the trap, even though you still got information. Not like you've given me anything to call you, though. _

She thinks to herself about the trap he must have set, and she sighs, knowing this was probably doomed from the start. ** How ab- **

Before she can finish her thought, another message from his comes through. _ Really though, you ever thought about working in cyber engineering? The gear isn't too bad. _

“Too?!” Lidia replies aloud, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice. ** Too bad? I can run circles around my school with this! ** She instantly pulls herself away from her keyboard after the last bit. She's said too much. 

_ Wait, school? Are you… vit@l? _

She bites her tongue as she rolls her head back as she types. ** Information exchange, huh? Yes, I'm her. ** In a way, she curses her own words, knowing she just completely exposed herself if he plans on hanging her out to dry.

The man nods to himself. This girl seems talented enough, but he isn't all that sure if she had worked alone. If so, then kudos, but if not, is she a part of DedSec? He has no problems with it, he just isn't too acquainted with the members. _ Did you work alone? _ He finally asks, the question burning in his mind. 

** For the school hack? Yes, absolutely. I was afraid someone would turn me in or something like that. ** She reads over her message a time or two before finally sending it. He smiles at the notion. It really does make sense, and it's nice to get a calm answer from her. 

_ Can I see your tech? _

** Excuse me? ** She responds, a cocked eyebrow as she types.

_ Can I see the programs and shit you're running? _

That in itself is a weird question. “Why not?” She says to herself as she copies over the project and program files, before smirking to the empty room. She knows the game she can play with this, not about to give it away for free. ** I'll make you a deal. If we meet in person, I'll give you a USB with everything on it. **

_ You’re already risking our anonymity? Didn't your parents ever tell you not to meet with strangers on the internet? _

She chuckles at the irony to that sentence. ** Frankly, my dad didn’t care, and still doesn't. And I don't like the idea either, but I sure as hell ain't sending it by pigeon. **

He sighs, knowing this isn't the best idea. But then again, he's intrigued by this... arrangement. Is she truly as talented as she shows, or is this some sort of bluff? That was the problem with DedSec. They had created a whole new generation of script kiddies, which could cause all sorts of problems.

_ Well judging by your IP, you live in Chicago, which means we won't be too far off. I don't see a problem as long as we ensure that we exchange with each other. _ She bites her tongue. They're actually going to do this? It's something she threw out as an offbeat idea, but didn't think would actually happen. 

** Then let's do it. ** She says. It's now or never, and God knows she's tired of running in circles. In her file searching, she turned up empty for Zombi work, but other pieces of random information and details about people sparked her interest. ** Let's make it a public place, like a coffee shop. Maybe we have a better chance of, you know, keeping things safer. **

_ All fine and good, but we have to make it clear that it's us. There has to be some sort of arrangement that will prove we’re talking to the right person. _

** What do you usually order? **

* * *

Lidia tugs at her hoodie strings as she shakes her head. She knows she shouldn't be doing this; just being here is a threat. The USB drive is in her jacket pocket, and she has no plan to bring it out until she knows she's safe. She watches as people stroll in and out of the doors, scanning for anyone who would look suspicious. She's also mentally taking note of people's coffee orders, knowing the arrangement previously 

3 p.m. exactly. The time etches in her mind like a stamp, a branding, a signal of a blaring alarm. The plan is supposed to go into place at 3:05, but he's supposed to be here at 3. She couldn't help but feel the nervousness rise up again. Is this the right place, and more importantly, will he be here? The flow of people never stops, but time seems to stand still for seconds at a time as Lidia scans the crowd. 

3:03 p.m. She slightly panics, knowing this could all go wrong in a millisecond. On the other end, Aiden walks into the coffee shop, looking around at the patrons. The girl in a white hoodie has a laptop opened, he notices. He orders a black coffee and she looks up. He notices her glance; It must be her.

3:05 p.m; It's time. She starts up the terminal on the computer, although she could do something this trivial from her phone. She types in the code as if her fingers move on their own, and with a loud whoosh, the entire place goes dark. People let out alarmed yelps and a few screams, but nothing too important. "Calm down everyone," the man at the counter tries to reassure. "It seems like a minor blackout or beaker issue, we'll be back online shortly." No one seems to be calling the cops, which was what they had hoped for. At 3:06 p.m. exactly, the power comes back on, courtesy of her; this time, though, there's a man sitting in front of her.

“That was pretty gutsy on your part,” he says to her as he closes his phone, her laptop a wall between the two. In a way, it feels like when they talked before- closed off from each other, but close none the less.

“Wasn't that the point?” She responds. "You tracking the signal back was probably more bold than what I just did. Mine looked like an accident... yours would be hard to explain, if caught."

“For all you knew, I could have been three blocks over watching the eruption.” He adds with a smirk. “You really are determined.”

She scoffs, finally closing the computer in front of her. “What can I say? I'll jump at the chance to meet another one of us.”

“Are you comparing yourself to me?” He asks, almost sarcastic, just bitter enough to come across with a friendly yet biting tone.

“Not in the least bit. But with who my dad is, it's a little hard to have hacker friends. Or any friends like us, for that matter.”

“So we're friends already?” He fires back, causing her to roll her eyes, knowing this game of cat and mouse is entertaining him at this point.

She laughs as she forms her response. “Didn't say that. Just making a general statement.”

“Are you gonna tell me your name, or am I gonna call you Vital all meeting?” He says with a slight roll of his hand, posing the question with his body language _ and _ words.

She sighs. “It's Lidia. Lidia Hadinson.” 

In the few moments, the gears turning in his brain are almost visible through his emerald eyes. “Like the business man? Blume?” 

“Sadly, yes.” She scoffs at his shocked expression. “Oh wow look, big conglomerate’s daughter is a hacker! Not like I haven't heard that one before.” She takes another drink of coffee, not even needing the caffeine to keep her up after the early morning. The adrenaline was doing all the work for her, giving her a sense of fight or flight that would probaly lean towards fight if it came down to it.

“That wasn't my point. Guess I just didn't realize that he had a daughter in the first place." He says, and she nods somewhat appreciatively. It's nice to know she isn't a huge celebrity in everyone's world, no matter how much the company liked to pressure her. "Not to mention," Aiden continues, "that she's a high school hacker whose tech is dangerously powerful.” 

She chuckles. “Thanks for that last part I guess. But in the end does it even matter?”

“I'd say it does. An extra back door or a physical key to a locked room; they can all mean life or death.”

“Point made.” She says in response. “Well, looks like it's your turn.”

“Aiden Pearce.” He definitely looks like it, she notes to herself as she makes the silent connection to his deeds.

“Look at that, finally got a name to a face of the vigilante hacker. Don't worry, I won't use it against you as long as you don't use mine against me.” She replies. That's a whole other part to this; if her dad knows she even took a second glance at someone like him, she probably wouldn't be let out of the house for weeks. It isn't that he's over-protective, just that he hates hackers like him with an understandable passion.

“Not to be too forward, but you're awfully cocky for someone of your age.”

She chuckles. “How old do you think I am?”

“Sixteen, maybe.” He responds with a soft shake of his head.

She shrugs lightly. “Seventeen, but I'll cut you some slack for that.”

“See, there it is!” He says, referring to her tone.

“Look, when you grow up like me, you've gotta develop some sort of mechanism and I guess that's mine.” She explains, all too truthfully.

“What do you mean by that?”

_ Good lord. _ She can't help but think to herself as she rolls her eyes. “Oh come on, do you really want my angsty backstory in the middle of a coffee shop when we've just met?” She swirls the coffee as she takes a sip.

“Depends, are going to tell me what happened or are you trying to stall?”

“Fine. Mom walked out on me when I was eight. Dad wanted to get us therapy- and by us I mean him. He thought it didn't affect me, although I looked her right in the eye hours before she walked out the door. There.” Lidia takes a deep breath after her long winded acknowledgement.

He sighs. "Wow, that is one hell of a story. So you're doing this to try and make up for it?"

She can't help but chuckle. "I guess so." As some sort of reward to that rant, she tosses the flash drive to him, Aiden catching it before examining for a second. He stuffs it into a pocket in his brown leather coat as she fiddles with the strings of her hoodie again. "Kept my promise."

He can't help but feel concerned about this girl. She seems legit enough, but is it all a front? He has no one he can really trust, Jordi barely even counts as a helper. Lidia seems… different. Maybe he sees Lena in her, maybe their morals just align; either way, he really wants to trust her, but all of this is a slippery slope. Too many chances of getting things wrong. He can't help but think she's the living definition of a loose cannon waiting to explode. He hasn't seen how she's worked up to this point, so he can't say for sure if she's reckless or not. All in all, she seems like a reliable source, and he can't help but think she'll come in handy. After moments of thinking, he pulls a pen out of his pocket and scribbles something on the napkin before sliding it over to her and standing. "This was fun and all, but I can't waste anymore time babysitting." She raises an eyebrow with a comically offended expression.

"You're leaving? Just like that?" She says as he starts to walk towards the door. giving her a two finger salute before exiting. Lidia finally looks down at the napkin, and almost chokes on air. 

A phone number, a date, a time and a note. _ You're dangerous, but that makes two of us. Keep in touch, and come back here again. I might have an offer next time. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO THIS WAS SO FUN TO WRITE!!!!! seriously, things are just kicking off and the plot is just starting to thicken. <3


	4. introduction, part 3- you don't know what's in my head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _ What are you gonna say to me? What are you gonna do with me? _
> 
> (i don't give a..., missio)
> 
> this was supposed to be easy- all he had to do was get a yes or no answer. unfortunately for him, lidia's inquisitiveness is getting the best of her

Lidia looks up at the sign over the door of the coffee shop. She won't admit it to anyone other than herself, but she's insanely nervous. A deal? With the _ vigilante? _ This has to be a trap, something to lock her into turning herself in. There has to be some ulterior motive to deteriorate her career. Why else would he be doing this? He doesn't need her in the slightest, he's been more than capable over these last few months. If he _ is actually in need of the assets, _ why isn't he going to a person with actual training? There's no reason to go after the help of someone like her unless he's 1.) looking to throw blame on someone, or 2.) looking to fund his crooked schemes.

If she has to guess? It's the second one. 

She musters up all her courage before opening the door and walking in, knowing it's too late to back out now. The small tables and counter feel welcome and open, yet she can't help the terrified notion in her veins. She scans the area for a moment or two before noticing the man from last meeting. She smiles to herself, acknowledging the fact that he even decides to do all this to uphold what he said. Or wrote, more correctly. She gives him a slight nod, noticing the glint of awareness in his eyes as he sees her. She orders an iced americano, tipping _ way _ too much and keeping an air of kindness. In a way, it's odd, but he figures he's much like her; hide in plain sight, and people tend not to notice.

Except, as he slowly gains more traction, it's harder to stay out of a prying eye's light. 

Lidia's been lucky enough to avoid most interviews that news outlets try to set with her. Her excuse is always about not wanting to take the spotlight from her dad, or having nothing important enough to need a public appearance. On the other hand, Aiden doesn't have a way out of the spotlight, other than just lying low. But even then, he's gotten picked up by WKZ-TV, doing all he can to keep his personal life and motives out of the media. It isn't interviews for him, it's being forced into a public eye.

"You're putting a lot of faith in a man notorious for violence." He quips, pulling himself out of his inner monologue as Lidia sits down on the other side of the two-seater-table.

"What can I say? I'm curious by nature." She pauses for a moment, knowing the comment he's about to make. "And don't tell me curiosity killed the cat; frankly, satisfaction brought it back." She says before drinking her coffee, somehow matching his sarcasm with her own.

"Well, what has you so curious? If it's a funding deal, not like you need it anyways." He comments as he watches her expression change. His well-aimed comment lands middle-target, rendering her completely lost. _ Caught her. Now to make her squirm. _

Her eyes shoot up in a glare as she stops and sets her cup down. He clearly struck a chord with her, the thought processing somewhere in the depths of her mind, trying to find a good comeback. Sadly, this time, she comes up empty. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Aiden leans back in his chair. "I'm pretty sure you and your dad's net worth combined is more than everyone's in this place. He can probably feed a village, yet he doesn't. Why?" His smugness could be suffocating for some, but it only presses Lidia to push back. How far does she have to go before he tells her his real intentions? 

"Because he's selfish, and his ego is larger than ctOS' fucking reach. If you're implying I'm anything like him, you're dead wrong." She replies with a bite in her tone, trying to make an intimidating aura.

It doesn't work. He can read right through her. "Quite frankly, I don't think you are. That's why I wanna help you." 

She looks around for a second in thought. At this point, the conversation is backing her into a corner, forcing her to choose a different plan of attack. Does he really want to help her? Probably not. "You're gonna want something in return, though. A one sided deal is just giving, or stealing, depending on the person." 

"Point made." He says before taking some of his coffee.

"So what is it? Money? Drugs? Please, for the love of God, don't be drugs. That'll be harder for me to pull off than you think."

He almost laughs at the comment. "None of the above." Aiden says, a smirk on his face.

"You're going to have to be more specific then." Lidia retorts, knowing he's getting cocky. Her switch of wording reflects her seriousness, almost letting him see the business side of her; the one that comes out of the shadows when she's with her dad and his friends. 

"Not to get personal-" He starts, aiming at their last conversation. 

"Hey!" She exclaims at his soft jab.

"You can't even deny it." He says, shifting in his seat and crossing his arms. "Anyways, my niece was killed in a hit meant for me." He blurts out, almost completely unaccounted for. The change in stance is a try at a shield.

"Oh my God, Aiden, I'm so sorry." All of a sudden, Lidia switches gears to a conscious effort at caring. The words come out with no malice.

"Save your pity." He responds with a shake of his head, trying to keep things moving. "The point is, if you help me track down the guy that killed her, I'll help you with the Blume situation."

"What?" She says, the one worded sentence only partially aimed at him. The other target is the situation in itself. Why would he _ randomly _ reveal that huge detail? Sure, he's trying to convince her, but even then, they've only met once before this. Wasn't he overstepping his _ own _ boundaries? 

"From what I understand, you want to take out a leg on their table. I might have some things that could help." He says, knowing how to work this angle. Now that he has her listening, and already got the shock value out of the way, he's wide open to start pushing towards a final position.

Her mind stutters for a moment before she sighs. This is too easy. There has to be a catch. Does he get part of the data? Does he intend to use it against her? Although the idea seems great enough, the questions surface in her mind like bubbles in soda. "And if I refuse?"

If he's completely honest, he didn't plan for that. Her patterns all pointed to this being an easy agreement. Her counterattacks are proving futile, though. He isn't giving up just yet. "Your dad had about $16.3 million in his bank account two years ago. Am I correct?" He responds, trying to combat her defense. He spent time in between the meetings researching her dad's role in Blume, and discovered how much he had actually done. He quickly makes a scenario to use this information he had stored away in case of emergency. Here it was, and now it's time to pull out the stops. Apparently, Jack Hadinson likes to donate to charity.

He saw through that facade easily.

He effectively catches her by surprise as she raises an eyebrow. "How did you-?"

"It's now at $9.1 million, am I right? Judging by your reaction, I'd say you were the one who did all the spending over the years. I can put it back to the 16 in a second flat if you go against me." He threatens, doing all he can to come off as the intimidating vigilante the news knows. 

_ Shit! _ It wasn't hard for him to walk right through her shield, like a ghost through a wall. Except all he needed was a look into a bank account. "You're black mailing me? I thought you wanted my help, asshole." She says, leaning forward to make sure only he can hear her response. For whatever reason, her once-gone paranoia kicks in, causing her to become all-too-aware of anyone too close who could be listening.

"That's only _ if _ you turn on me. Or refuse the offer." He replies, a chuckle escaping as he watches her stunned reaction. How did they go from bantering to life-threatening in only a few moments? Is this just how these things work? She begins to question her own motives as an aura of confidence exudes from the man on the other side of the table. 

"Why? What do you gain from that? You know why I want him down." She asks, leaning back with a confused expression. Her tone reflects an annoyance, yet a genuine concern. 

"Actually, I don't. It really doesn't make sense. If you destroy him, you're taking yourself too." His interrogation is making her retreat back behind her own personal shield. She stays quiet, not able to explain herself without sounding tormented. "Look, my point is, there's an easier way to take him out." Aiden continues, realizing she isn't going to respond. "You're crashing yourself in the process. I might be able to help you find a better way, all I ask for in return is your cooperation. Don't fuck me over, and I can help you turn the tides on your dad." He knows he's close to tying this off, so he pushes harder for conviction.

"That's what I don't understand. Why me? You probably have help to begin with. Why would you want a script-kiddie on your side?" Lidia replies, still vying for an answer. 

He sighs, realizing he has to show more cards. "If I don't grab you now, someone else might, like Blume or a black hat group. You have talent, and if they try to culture that for their own good, you'll lose your way. I wanna help you use it to _ your _ advantage." His extra work is an attempt at empathy, appealing to her ego- whatever she has left of it, that is. 

She shakes her head with a laugh, clearly about to tear his argument apart. He misjudged her guidance by a _ lot, _ giving her a chance to retort. "I look up to DedSec, if you're trying to keep me from them-"

He puts his hand up to stop her, effectively silencing her using his commanding presence in the room. "I'm not. I could probably help you get noticed, if you're serious about joining."

Her eyes flash in excitement and he chuckles. "Do I have your attention now?" At this point, he has her right where he wants her. He's like a viper waiting to strike, seeking out the opportune moment to settle this.

"You already had it." Lidia abruptly drops a bomb he can't predict. "I came in here knowing I was accepting the deal, I just wanted to test how far you would go." She reveals as she nods, surveying the information in her mind. "You're willing to put a lot on the line to ensure my loyalty. I have to say, I'm impressed." He shakes his head as he thinks. She played him from the start, and she slipped right under his radar, like a pick plucking on a guitar.

They both break into laughs, registering the hard-to-get act evident from the two of them. "That was... effortless. You deserve some credit for that." Aiden says as she rolls her eyes at their previous attitudes. She somehow destroys his push back, essentially putting all the puzzle pieces in place to turn the tables in her favor. The control over the conversation is swiftly handed over, causing a shift in power balance. While it doesn't completely fall to her, it stays leveled out, allowing for finalizations.

"Thank you kindly. Now, back to the business at hand. Literally." She extends her right hand out to him. "Have fun trying to get rid of me after we decide on this. It takes a lot for me to break away from someone." She reevaluates the decision she's about to make, knowing her comment is all too true. Once she commits to this, it's game on.

He stalls for a moment before taking her hand with his left and shaking it. "I'm looking forward to this. In the worst way possible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> managed to hit 2k words on this one, a little late but the final part of the intro! next up, the story is about to really begin!


	5. chapter 1- shut your dirty mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _ I wouldn't hesitate to smile while you suffocate and die. That would be just fine, oh, what a lovely time. _
> 
> (choke, idk how but they found me)
> 
> the two of them combined are an unstoppable force. but even the invincible get caught sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! this is gonna kick off the actual story, so from here on out, here's your spoiler warning!

Lidia tugs on her hoodie strings as she sits with her dad in the stands of May Stadium. Now September, both her high school graduation and birthday have come and gone. Recently turned 18 and fresh out of high school, her relationship with her dad has deteriorated even more now that she's going to "night school." Her dad is too disappointed that she isn't interested in a real University or business degree.

The cover works, though.

Using this excuse, she can usually go out at all hours of the night with little protest. Although she may be an adult now, this doesn’t mean her dad doesn’t question her motives. As she sits next to him, she can’t help but think why he’s more strict with her now than when she was 16. Luckily, the ploy allows her to help Aiden with his investigations. The duo's work has led them to the gunman who ultimately killed Aiden's niece- Maurice Vega. They both intend to make him spill everything. She accompanied her dad to the game only to assist in her entry; hiding in plain sight works well for her. 

Jordi, Aiden's paid fixer, has become her extra help. If she couldn't handle some field mission Aiden was throwing at her, she would just call him to come assist. The two of them usually spend the time over comms bantering and sharing notes, physically pissing off Aiden but mentally making him realise how much he enjoys having people around. When he isn't being reclusive, there’s a small part of him that knows he’s actually fond of their presence. When they're alone, they swap stories about how to get on his good side, knowing it's useful to them both. Lidia has an easier time because he has a reason to trust her; Jordi is different. The money motivation doesn't always sit well with the Vigilante. 

On that note, Lidia’s spent too much time trying to understand why Aiden puts so much faith in her. He could care less about her not even a year ago, but now they work like a dream team. Her inner voice tells her it might be because of his niece or his sister, but she can’t be sure. Either way, he slowly seems to be understanding that she isn’t going to abandon him. 

MODULE INITIALIZED

BOOT SEQUENCE

LOGIN

Lidia logs into the ctOS system, reviewing her precautionary escape plan. The idea is for her to meet Aiden in the bottom of the arena and interrogate Maurice. The slight vibration from her phone indicates that she’s connected, and she can’t help but feel more secure. She's sure she won't need any sort of help for a while, but it doesn’t hurt to have it prepared.

** fox- ** You ready kid?

_ born ready._

** fox- ** Great, I'm at the bottom left of the seventh row

_ i'll see what I can do, don't leave without me_

** fox- ** Wouldn't dream of it

She turns to her dad with a slight raise of an eyebrow. “Hey, can I go see one of my friends?” He nods and she leaves down the stairs, expecting him to barely give her a wave off. Instead, he watches as she walks down the stairs, taking the first seat on her left. She knows it's _him_ without even looking over, mostly because she bought his ticket. If there’s any way to drain her dad’s bank account, she’ll take it. They rarely greet each other until they’re in private, but oddly enough, this time is a little different. She turns in the seat to look at him as he does the same to her, clearly taking the hint that they need to distract her father. Lidia tries to talk about something from her old biology class, the other man able to spy on her dad from under the brim of his cap. He nods and throws out stupid replies as she continues to talk about an old exam that gave her trouble. Eventually, he shakes his head. 

“Led, he’s gone.” He says as he grabs his phone out of his jacket pocket. The nickname came for a joke Jordi made about her hoodie being like an LED light. Usually, it just sounds like the way one would pronounce pencil "lead," unless Jordi and/or Aiden decide to tease a little and sound it out.

She chuckles, finally in the clear. “You probably didn’t understand any of what I said, huh?” 

He rolls his eyes. “It’s not like I ever understood it. Feels like I need to go back to high school.”

She stands with her phone in her hand as she can hear her dad babbling to his boss. “So as I was saying, this deal could really gives us a push…” 

The other man stands and waits for her to start walking before following behind her, acting like a shield in case her dad decides to investigate. 

“Aiden?” She asks as she turns into the tunnel. 

“Hm?” He replies, now moving to walk next to her. Their height difference of ten inches is interesting, but makes sense for the 20 year age difference between them. He usually has to look down to talk to her, so he tries to keep up with her walking-wise to make communication easier. 

“Where’s Jordi?” 

“Taking care of business. Speaking of, it’s time for us to get to our little meeting.” 

She nods and he hands her a pistol, a slight smirk forming on her face as she speeds up. A P-9mm… _her dad’s_ P-9mm sits in the palm of her hand. A slight air of confidence fills her as she notes how she even came in possession of the gun. Her dad got angry during a business deal once, and grabbed the weapon just to walk around with. Lidia figured it just made him feel protected or powerful, but it didn’t change the fact that it freaked her out. She stole it out of his closet the next day and gave it to Aiden to hold onto. Not only did she have to feign ignorance to keep her father from finding out, she ended up using it in a fire fight and realized it wasn’t a hard gun to handle. Ever since, it’s been her weapon of choice. 

She tucks the gun into her jeans and Aiden laughs as she tries to play off the motion. “Kid, you need to get an actual holster for that thing. Only reason I don’t need one is because of the large jacket.” 

Lidia scoffs as she turns a corner, pretending to be taking him around the bottom half of the stadium. “Yeah, you have a place to put the little shit. Where else do you want it, my ass?” 

She waves off a guard that tries to stop them, only registering who she is after a second. She might not be movie-star-level famous, but both her and her dad are on the guest list for the game- meaning the guards will let her slip by undetected.

Aiden rolls his eyes as they walk down to their predetermined secret entrance. “One of these days it’s gonna fire on you, or worse, you’ll get caught with it. Then you’ll be wishing you took my advice.”

She scoffs as they come up on the entry. “You’ll be singing a different tune when you-” She stops as she looks up at him. “For once, I’ve got nothing.” 

“Told you.” He says as he shakes his head. 

* * *

Aiden throws Maurice to the ground as Lidia leans against one of the equipment racks, pistol in hand. With blood streaming down his face, Maurice tries to crawl away, but he’s persistent. Aiden follows behind him, looming over him as intimidatingly as possible. In reality, Lidia is there for back-up and to serve as a form of cover if needed. The plan rode on them getting in swiftly- which she more than helped with.

“You gotta believe me man,” Maurice starts as he turns over to face him. 

“Who gave the order?” Aiden interrupts, not interested in his pleas.

“Come on, I told you... I don’t know!” Maurice tries again, but neither Aiden nor Lidia are buying it. 

“I wouldn’t lie to us if I was you.” She adds. The more they push against him, the more upset he becomes. 

“I don’t know!” He continues again.

“You don’t know…” Aiden says sarcastically as he pulls out his phone. 

_“Hit the family?” “That a problem?”_ They can all hear the voices over the phone, clearly an old recording of a conversation. _“Nope. I’ll scare them good. You’ll never hear from him again.”_

Maurice tries to get away again as Aiden grabs his side. “So what do you think, Maurice? Did you scare me?” He throws him towards the shelves in front, before walking towards him again. 

“It was a job, man. I didn’t know.” Maurice is trying to plead for his life, already bruised up with a black eye and blood trailing down his face. 

Aiden kneels down so he’s on the same plane as Maurice. “Who was on the other end of the call? Give me a name.”

“They never gave me a name!” Maurice is clearly scared at this point, and Aiden is getting more frustrated as time goes on. 

“Yeah, I’ll tell you a name.” Aiden threatens as he leans closer and grabs his neck. “Lena. Lena Pearce.” He chokes the other man, feeling a surge of power as he finally gets to take a shot at the man who screwed up his life. Under any other circumstances, Lidia would let Aiden kill him. Maurice is the catalyst, creating the disaster that turned into this mission. Hell, she would love to get her dad in a position like that. But now isn’t the time.

“Hey asshole, we kinda need him.” She finally points out as she steps from her spot towards the two men. Aiden lets go of Maurice’s neck with a slight growl, leaving him gasping for air. 

“I didn't know about any kids alright… that wasn't supposed to happen.” Maurice is now terrified, Lidia waving her gun around towards him. The safety is still on, a precaution while she carries it, but nonetheless, it strikes fear in him.

“I want you to think very carefully. Think.” Aiden demands to him. 

“Look man…” Maurice says as he sits up a little higher. “Even if I knew a name, you couldn’t get me talking.” 

Lidia rolls her eyes. “You wanna leave here with a broken nose or a broken body? Start thinking.” Her threats are a little more empty than Aiden’s, but they hold the same malice.

“These guys, I heard stories, man. They’re like nothing you’ve ever seen before. You guys gotta walk away from this.” Internally, she knows Maurice is right. They all are in an incredible amount of danger by doing this, even if they don’t want to admit it. 

“Some things you can’t walk away from.” Aiden snaps, standing up and backing away from him. Moments of the car crash play back in his head, causing him to tense up, She notices the difference in stance and quiet, making her walk to his side. 

“Hey, I can take this.” She says softly as she nudges him away. She knows that he just gets like this sometimes- the pain never truly goes away, as she also knows from personal experience. “Dipshit,” Lidia starts as she walks in front of Aiden. “If anything, you should be more scared of me than of him. Unlike Jacket Man, I have no personal attachment to this. Which means, in turn, I can put as many holes in you as I want and feel no remorse.” This is a giant lie, but she’s not about to let on to that. Right now, Maurice is the main link to the whole situation, so if she did kill him, they’d be losing practically everything. Both Aiden and Lidia know this, but he lets her say whatever she needs to get an upper hand. “I’m gonna ask you once. Who ordered the fucking hit?” Lidia barks as she points the gun at him. 

“I spoke to him on the phone, he told me where to find him!” Maurice forces out quickly, in fear of his life. “That’s all I know, man! That’s all I know!” 

“Give me a name.” Aiden says as he steps to Lidia’s side, lightly grasping her wrist holding the gun, causing her to stand down. She sighs and puts the weapon back into her pants, realising he’s capable now. 

“I don’t know!” Maurice cries out as he curls into a ball, trying to protect himself. 

Lidia reaches around Aiden and clicks the safety off the gun he’s pointing at the assailant, nodding to acknowledge each other. 

“Name! Now!” She says as she leans against Aiden’s shoulder.

“Kill me, man! Just fucking kill me!” 

Aiden pulls the trigger with a very anti-climatic pop. He sighs, realising the chamber was empty the whole time. “Wanna borrow mine?” Lidia asks quietly as he shakes his head. He knows he can’t kill him anyways, it would destroy their only evidence. 

“How’s your memory now?” He remarks as he holsters the gun and walks away slowly, Lidia following behind. 

Maurice sees a quick opportunity and looks around. He finds a bat lying next to him and snatches it, getting up and charging at Aiden. As Lidia pulls the gun from his coat pocket and speeds up, Aiden whirls around and strikes with his baton, jamming it into the back of his leg. As he begins to fall to the ground, he nails him again in the back of the head twice, causing Maurice to fall completely limp on the ground. Aiden tries to formulate words as he collapses the weapon and stores it in his jacket. He turns to Lidia and the exit. “Good thinking, wouldn’t want him getting a hold of an empty gun.” He says sarcastically as she holds the piece out to him. 

“Jesus shit, I was trying to load it for you. Turns out ours don’t match.” She remarks as he takes it from her hand and holsters it. 

Aiden looks around before finding Maurice’s phone, picking it up off the ground. “Let’s see what this might be hiding.” He hacks into the device and presses play on one of the first audio files.

_“I can’t keep running. I can’t do it. That fucking Aiden Pearce.”_ The two of them can hear Maurice crying on the other end, yet neither of them feel any remorse. _“I killed his niece. He won’t stop chasing me. Who is this guy? What am I gonna do? He keeps coming!”_

Lidia shakes her head, feeling a little relieved that he didn’t know about her involvement. “Play with fire and you’re gonna get burned.” She says as he places the phone back in the relative place he found it. 

“Same could be said for us. We need to keep moving.” 

She nods and the two of them walk out the exit and start down the hall, bodies littering the area. “Christ,” Lidia says as she rolls her shoulders. “Looks like someone got busy.”

“Yo Maurice… yo, what’s shaking, motherfuck-” One of the viceroys says as he rounds the corner and almost runs into the two of them. “Oh, shit-!” He says as he starts to pull out his gun. 

Aiden puts his hands up in surrender with Lidia doing the same, weapon in her hand. She starts to try to communicate, until she sees a figure behind the viceroy.

“Where the hell you been?” Aiden remarks.

“What?” The viceroy questions as he stutters with the gun.

“He’s talking to me.” Jordi answers for him as he stabs him in the side while the criminal tries to turn to him. As Jordi attempts to bring him to the ground slowly, he looks back up at the pair. “I leave you for two minutes…”

“Gimme my bullets.” Aiden demands, clearly angry from the situation before. 

“I tossed them.” Jordi responds, slightly shrugging. 

Lidia furrows her brow. “You did _what?”_

Jordi sighs, annoyed. “What? He said he’d kill him otherwise.” She rolls her eyes as she looks across the room at the corpses.

“I told you to hold on to them, Jordi.” Aiden retorts as Lidia huffs, crossing her arms. Jordi stands and walks past him with a shrug. 

Lidia shrugs her shoulders, second-handedly annoyed. “We need to get going, we can’t argue with him right now.” He nods in agreeance as he looks around the corner. 

“Where you been anyway?” He calls as Jordi walks towards one of the dead bodies.

“I had to make a call. And you get what you need from Maurice?” He asks back as he starts to re-position the dead man.

Aiden shifts, annoyed by his own mistakes. Lidia looks up at him sympathetically, but then back to Jordi with a shake of her head. 

“Aw, you’re kidding me.” Jordi says, and she quietly flips him off before Aiden can notice.

“Let’s clean this mess up. Stop admiring your work.” The aforementioned man says as Jordi takes the gun from Aiden. Jordi places it in the hand of a viceroy across from the other as Lidia and Aiden turn to face him. 

“Hey, that’s cute and all but I’m disappointed, Pearce- Hadinson, too. I mean, you guys just fail to spot the nasty inter-gang drama I’m creating here.” Jordi picks up one of the other guns as he continues.

“I don’t like loose ends. Let’s get him out of here.” Aiden retorts and she nods, knowing it’s probably best to act quickly. 

“No, too late.” Jordi says and she raises an eyebrow as she looks at him. “Bottom of the eight, Chicago’s ahead. Game’s almost over. We are outta time.” He says as he places the gun again, firing a bullet so it looks like the dead man did it. “Nice shot,” he adds with a pat on the shoulder as he stands. “Come on, you’re not just a little interested in my phone call?” He asks as he walks back over to the pair.

“Alright, fine. Tell me about your phone call.” Aiden says with a slight look to Lidia, knowing she would've probably asked if he didn’t.

“Glad you asked. Okay, we got a bunch of dead bodies right? We got 40,000 people above us, we need a distraction.” Jordi says as he moves in front of them. 

“Thanks Captain Obvious.” Lidia replies as he chuckles. 

“But wait,” He says with a cross of his arms. “I called the cops.” 

Her jaw drops. “You did _WHAT?”_

“You didn’t,” Aiden retorts. 

“Oh yeah, true story. So cops arrive… and Maurice’s little band of brothers arrive… and pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.” He says, adding sound effects as he pokes his fingers together for effect of this crazy plan. 

“Jordi, tell me you’re joking.” Aiden stammers. 

“No, no. I called them too. Look, we get a messy altercation at the end of the game, and we slip away undetected. You’ll appreciate the plan tomorrow.” 

Lidia shakes her head as she looks at Aiden. “I swear to God, one of these days I’m smacking him.” 

“Kid, I’ll give you the brass knuckles.” He says as he follows her towards the exit. 

“Suspects are believed armed. Approach cautiously.” Aiden and Lidia back up from the hallway as they can hear the police begin to approach. 

“Great. Punctual cops." He remarks as he looks to her. 

"We can handle these guys." She says, pulling out her gun again. She may be all too confident, but he can't help but be proud. 

"Jordi, grab Maurice, get him outta here.” He says as he walks towards the back wall. 

"Maurice?" Jordi replies, feigning offense. "What do I look like, a chauffeur?" 

Lidia rolls her eyes. "Quit whining. You made this mess and now we have to clean it up." She says with a slight bite in her tone. 

"Well jeez LED Light, I didn't think I'd strike a chord." He remarks as he tries to walk off.

"He's the shooter. I'm not through with him yet." Aiden says as he catches him on his way out before pulling the scarf over part of his face.

* * *

"Chicago Police! If there's anyone in here, identify yourselves." An officer calls down the long hallway as Aiden and Lidia duck behind the wall. She takes a shaky breath before turning around the corner and sprinting to an equipment rack at the end. Aiden follows, beating her to it by mere stride and taking cover on the left of it, Lidia sitting against the wall. 

"Got a body here. Definitely a Viceroy. Here's the weapon, gunshot wounds-" A cop says to his partner as Aiden notices an open chain link fence. 

"Go." He mutters to her as she passes him, taking cover behind a box before the opening. He follows but goes past to another box just outside the gate. 

"Got another corpse. Another Viceroy." The aforementioned partner calls, Aiden raising a hand to Lidia, signalling to wait. "Victim-less crime, then." The cop retorts as a guard passes an upwards spiraling ramp. As soon as his line of sight is turned, Aiden motions and Lidia walks close behind him as they head up. "Why'd they have to pick the biggest game of the season to pull this shit? Trying to ruin it for everybody?" She smirks to herself, knowing Jordi is to blame for that. 

The duo breaks into a run as they hear someone say over a radio, "Squad, we've got two bodies in the basement of May Stadium. Gangbangers." 

"Copy, we're sending forensics. Secure your position for now- we're sweeping each level of the stadium." A female voice responds as the two head for a different chain link fence. 

"Dammit." Lidia curses to herself as she overhears them. "Speedy exit, I'm guessing?" 

"Mhmm." Aiden replies with a simple hum as he finds footholds in the fence and begins to climb. He swings himself over, being tall enough to land and suppress his fall.

Lidia follows, taking a little bit longer to climb over. She stalls for a second as she reaches the top, sitting with her heels in the openings. "Is this what it feels like to be tall?"

He shakes his head, reveling in her stupid confidence even in a time like this. "We gotta go. Weren't you just complaining about the cops? You're average height anyways."

She shrugs as she starts to walk herself down from the top. "Not compared to you and Jordi, but whatever." She jumps down, bouncing back up and trailing behind him.

"Looks like a gang hit. Wait… you think it's the vigilante?" They both hear as they run up the small set of stairs.

She looks to him, fear in her eyes. The ground levels out to flatness as she pulls on his sleeve. "What?" Aiden asks as he wheels around, a bite in his tone.

"We need to be careful. Maybe I should go first." She comments as he begins to look around for an unlocking mechanism. 

He rolls his eyes. "Lidia, we'll be fine. We just have to get this door open. Looks like it unlocks from the other side…" 

"Does feel like his brand of 'justice,' don't it?" One of the cops across the wall comments, the words floating in her head for a moment. 

"What I wouldn't give to get my hands on that piece of shit." The other guard responds as Aiden finds the camera. 

"You're up." He says to Lidia, watching as she hacks into the security measure via her phone. 

She tilts the camera up, looking through the vent above the door. "Bingo." She jumps to that camera, moving it around in the room on the other side of the door. "Where is that little- aha!" She notices a camera from another angle as she wheels it around, hopping to that feed. She bounces between a couple other angles and cameras before arriving on the one closest to the switchboard. She hacks into it, effectively opening the door next to them with a click as two officers walk through a doorway on the other end. "Got it." She says, pulling out of the cameras as Aiden pushes into the doors. The two walk through and dip down behind a counter, spotting a guard on the other end. 

Aiden grabs a lure before throwing it at the guard. It lands on the wall away from another staircase, and he sends a music signal through it. The guard walks over the sound, making an opening that the two beeline through. They run up a stopped escalator before going through the door and hiding against the side of the middle bar. As the cops start arguing with some viceroys, they cut across the back of the bar, moving through a doorway so quiet the other people have no idea. They keep close to the opposite wall before staying next to a pillar with a ctOS ad. He pulls out his phone to make a quick call about an escape route.

The line stalls for a moment or two before he starts talking. "Badboy. The police are about to lock this whole place down. We're stuck unless we create a major distraction- I want to cut the power and slip past them."

_"To the whole stadium? I thought you wanted to keep 'the Vigilante' out of the news. Everything's connected to the ctOS with a serious firewall."_ The distorted voice replies through the line.

"Right now, we need to get out of the stadium. Can you find me the nearest access point?" 

The voice stalls for a moment before returning. _"In the next room. But you'll need to find someone with security clearance."_

"Security?" Lidia asks, already looking into the camera across the way via signal as he hangs up.

"Yup." He replies quietly, looking out at the window next to them. 

She moves the instrument around before hopping to another camera, angling at the two guards talking. One of the officers has the clearance, and she steals the code before hacking into the switch box and looking down into the security chamber. "Oh my god, you're beautiful." She comments before hacking into the mainframe and getting the system access. "The framework, not you.” She remarks at Aiden as he scoffs back a laugh. “Sending the signal over… now." 

The hack arrives on Aiden’s phone, and he nods to her before activating it. The light switches close to them are the first to go, the sparks flying past the plastic covering and around the area. The lights turn off in that room, the only light from Lidia’s still-open phone. Quickly, the attack spreads through the entire arena, causing their surroundings to turn almost pitch black.

The distraction now successful, the two sneak their way into the room with the guards, staying low and out of their line of sight. They hide behind a column before sprinting down a stopped escalator. Once cleared of any guards, they run out the exit door, Aiden barricading the entry behind them. 

As they push through the next set of doors, Aiden makes another phone call. “Where are you, Jordi?” 

_“What? Gone. I’m allergic to cops. So’s Maurice. But don’t worry- I left you a present.”_ He responds as Aiden and Lidia casually walk through the crowd at the merchandise alleyway. _“Friend of a friend deals in pre-owned cars. Got a real beauty waiting for you in the garage across the street. Take it or leave it. I don’t care. Gotta go.”_ He hangs up abruptly as the duo walks out the final set of exit doors and some more patrons begin to panic about the blackout.

* * *

“Uh, Aiden? This can’t be good.” Lidia comments as she pulls open her profiler map to see a guess radius of a police search. She doesn’t normally focus on getting away from the cops rather than getting out in one piece. But with her dad present in the stadium, she’d rather be seen in a body bag than in handcuffs. 

“Relax, we’ve got this. Take two lefts.” They both make a left to head down the stairs before breaking into a run as the lights click back on and they turn to an alley on the west. They whirl past the graffiti on the brick walls before coming up on the car parked in a garage. They rush through the open side door and hop inside the vehicle before hacking open the garage door. Lidia takes a deep breath for what feels like the first time that night. As much as she loves working with Aiden and doing what they do, the stress can be taxing from time to time. He accelerates hard out of the garage and parking lot, going past the toll booth and cutting across the street and through a dirt road. He makes a left as he gets past the gate, then another left as he reaches the main road. He pulls a quick right onto a ramp before merging onto the freeway, effectively escaping the police via speeding up on the highway. 

"Where we headed?" Lidia asks as she leans against the car door. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't tired and strung out from the day's events.

"Motel, why? Need a ride?" He asks as he pulls into the off-ramp and back onto the streets. 

"I'm good, I could probably call Fiona to come get me in the morning. Or just walk, whatever I feel like." He shakes his head with a curt laugh, and she can tell there's a lot on his mind.

"What's wrong?" She asks, cutting through the atmosphere. She knows he doesn't have it in him to open up on his own- it takes a push to get him started.

"I just... I needed this _bad._ I've finally got the goddamned trigger-man!" His tone feels excited with a hint of fear, reminding her of a kid before a big field trip.

"Fuck yeah you do." She responds with a nod. The whole plan is starting to come together, the puzzle pieces working together to create the full picture.

"I just need to break through...but how? We pushed Maurice hard, torture's not going to work on this guy." He says as they pull into the parking lot of the Owl Motel.

"So we get inside his head." She replies as he shuts off the car. "He's human. He has to have some weaknesses." She says as she steps out of the car, him following suit as the doors slam shut behind them. The comment may be about Maurice, but it's meant to hit him too.

"You might have a point... That guilt is eating him up. I'll give him a couple days… I'll bet he'll start reaching out." He replies, trying to formulate a new angle of attack. He shakes his head, eventually deciding it's too late in the night to create something solid.

Lidia and Aiden walk up the stairs to the second story of the motel. She follows him to his room, leaning against the wall. She looks out at the landscape as he takes out the keys. "A bit analog, don't you think?"

"What, this setup? It's safer, harder to be tracked." He answers as he turns the key and opens the door, pushing it free for her.

"Fair enough. And thanks." Lidia says as she walks inside the motel room, Aiden following whilst closing and locking the door behind them.

* * *

Aiden walks over to the computer and he plugs his phone in, downloading the hacked files. Specifically, the one he pulled from Maurice's phone. 

"So, what do we do now?" Lidia asks as she watches him work. She purposefully didn't bring her backpack because she thought it was going to be an easy interrogation, but now she wants to help in any way she can. 

"Nothing right now. All we can do is wait." He replies as he scans over the contents of the file dump.

_“These guys, I heard stories, man. They’re like nothing you’ve ever seen before. You guys gotta walk away from this.”_ The audio from earlier plays again.

Lidia shakes her head as she sits on the couch by the front door, pulling her hood off. "Did he seriously think he was gonna get off the hook for this? All actions have consequences." She decides not to think about Maurice's statement before she psychs herself out.

"You're preaching to the choir." Aiden retorts, knowing both of them have circumstances that could fall back on them and destroy their lives.

"Why do you say that?" She asks, wondering his thoughts.

"We're running around doing all this knowing that your dad could probably catch you and put you behind bars. Not to mention, I'd get prosecuted like that." He says, adding a snap for effect.

All of a sudden, her phone goes off, the tones filling the room. "Speak of the devil and he shall arrive." She answers the call as she brings the device to her ear. "Yeah? Yeah, I know." She's silent for a minute or so before she speaks again. "Okay, yeah. Bye."

"Was that your dad?" Aiden asks as she hangs up and sighs.

"Yep, apparently he doesn't care about my actual safety, just that I'm not in custody and I don't fuck up his public image." She replies. "WKZ wanted to speak with him after what happened at the game, so he set up a quick interview at the house tomorrow morning. He knows I sometimes come home late so he basically just told me to be careful when I come in the front door." Her expression looks... crestfallen, Aiden decides. That's the word for now. "That was it. There was no, 'are you okay?' 'Who are you with?' No, 'I'll send someone to pick you up,' no nothing; just be mindful of the cameras." 

"It could be worse." Aiden says as he turns to her, instantly wanting to take it back as he watches her body language shift into annoyance.

"Could it really though? I mean, yeah okay, I could not have a dad at all but at least I wouldn't have to put up with the treatment he gives me. It's like I'm just a part of his staff, nothing more than a trophy to cart around just to prove he's not a virgin. And if he wasn't around, couldn't that almost be better? I'd have this made-up version of him in my mind where he's a great person, and I'd never have to know the truth... Or maybe I just like living in a euphoria." She finishes her rambling, laying back on the couch with a loud groan.

"He could be a mass murderer with a revenge complex." Aiden says, causing Lidia to roll her eyes in his direction. 

She knows he's talking about himself, and she isn't sure whether to commend him on being self-reflective or address the topic at hand. "I'd take you over him any day of the week. At least I'm not an object to you." 

_Am I?_ She so desperately wanted to ask him.

As if he could read her mind, she got her answer. "You're _way_ more than that." 

She turns her head to the right to look at him, watching as he works with his computer setup. "Thanks... I guess." He knows she isn't used to being actually cared for- the only person who ever gave her any sense of belonging is her _maid_. That has to say something. 

From her spot on the couch, she can hear a couple buttons clicking before another audio plays from the machine. _"Why are you sitting here?"_ A female voice asks through the speaker. Lidia stands, walking her way over to where Aiden is standing. She leans against the far end of the desk, not wanting to intrude but still curious. _"He's coming, right? Not like last time?"_ This time, a little boy speaks, Aiden shaking his head. 

She can slowly put the pieces together- his sister and his nephew, who he hasn't seen in a year. 

_"Jackson, I did invite him."_ The woman through the screen speaks again, the puzzle pieces definitely gluing together. His nephew Jacks is turning ten this year. It has to be about the party.

"That's-"

"Nicky and Jacks, yeah." He responds solemnly. "His birthday party is tomorrow." She gets the reassurance she's looking for, causing her to look down in thought.

_"It's been so long. Are you sure you called the right number?"_ Lidia can feel her heart drop while listening, knowing Aiden must feel the same.

_"Honey, your uncle is a different kind of person. It doesn't mean he doesn't love us."_ The woman's voice finishes speaking and the video closes. Lidia sighs as she watches him walk around to the other side of the desk, looking at his makeshift crime board he made on the wall of the motel room.

She knows she has to tread lightly- he rarely talks to her about anything like this. "Are you going?"

His gaze travels down. "I should. But I just... I don't know if I'm ready."

She takes a deep breath before deciding she has to be forward. "You really should. You don't know unless you try. You only get one shot at his tenth birthday."

Deep down, he knows she's right, but he doesn't want to do this yet. He can't help but feel like he's cheating the rule- don't get attached to anyone because they'll just get hurt in the end. But whose rule is it, really?

His, if he's honest. 

Looking back at Lidia, her eyes are trying to read his expression. All he can see is someone so similar to him, yet so different. If that rule is set in stone, he's already failed- he's too attached to that girl in the hoodie. She's like the daughter he never had.

"We can't keep living like this." Aiden mumbles, and she can't help but agree.

"Hey." Lidia commands in a soft voice, and he walks towards his wall. "If we rush this, it could become more dangerous. We'll figure it out."

"I'm tired of waiting." He growls back at her, and she can tell he's slowly getting more irritated the more he's looking at the evidence. "The bastard needs to pay." He slams his fist against the question marked sticky note in front of him. The walls rattle, yet Lidia raises no protest or alarm.

"Hey, shaddup!" Their neighbor next to them calls back after the punch, causing her to bite back a laugh. His phone goes off with a loud vibration, causing her to smirk to herself.

_"I trust our info on finding Maurice was correct. We've gained access to the ctOS backdoor while the police were being distracted by you."_ Badboy's distorted voice comes through the speaker again, causing Lidia to perk up and walk over to him. _"Since we both win in this, we'll share what we have. That backdoor allows you some access to the ctOS network."_ Her eyes widen as she locks vision with Aiden. _"I'm still working on something bigger. Give me time..."_ The call goes dead as he places his phone back in his pocket.

"Need me to plant anything?" She asks excitedly. If there's any way she can help the mysterious informant or her own friends, then she'll find a way.

Are they actually her friends? Well, that's what she considers them. Whether that goes both ways is a totally different topic.

"Not yet." He replies. "But this will definitely give us a push in the right direction."

She nods, knowing acting too quickly will make things harder to handle. "Probably should get some sleep, right?" He nods, shrugging. "I'm just gonna walk home. It's not too far."

"You sure?" He asks, knowing late nights are usual for her, but also, today was very intense. Or, he should say, yesterday was intense; it's a little past one a.m. now. 

"I'll be fine. It's like a half hour, no big deal." Lidia responds, shrugging her shoulders as she pulls her hood up. 

He nods. "Fair enough. I'll see you in the morning Led." Aiden comments as she walks towards the front door.

"Hey," she turns around to face him. "Call me, okay? Let me know what we're doing." Lidia likes that she's able to consider them a team now.

"Of course." He responds as she unlocks the door and steps outside, shutting it behind her.

* * *

Lidia sighs as she stands at a green light, heading home from the motel. She could have picked up a car from the parking lot via ctOS signal, but it felt useless for a normal walk. Oddly enough, none of this feels like a crime to her anymore- from thinking of stealing a car to hacking into security cameras. She was either completely desensitized to this sort of thing, or her morals had done a complete 180. 

This is something she loves about being a 'night owl.' The darkness contrasting with the bright lights of cars and buildings spark some thoughts in her brain; ones that she doesn't often address. 

Then again, her overthinking has been known to get her into problems.

There's a soft smile on her face as she walks across the street, crossing the crosswalk through the now red light. Her life has changed so much since her first run-in with Aiden; hell, since the Merlaut. She can't help but think if 16-year-old Lidia could see her now, she'd be so proud, but also in complete disbelief that she's the same person. 

It's a relatively quick drive from the motel to her house, which is quite nice. No heavy freeway traffic or anything like that to worry about, but it's also a short walk; no use in getting a car for something trivial.

She could probably have gotten a taxi and blown more of her dad's money, but the whole point of her draining his bank account is for it to be inconspicuous. The large charity donations just work out because he's more than happy to boost his ego- which includes unnecessary interviews and excited public announcements about charity partners that didn't even go through.

She would've just stayed with Aiden, but she knows he needed time to think. 

And that's another thing- why does he feel so enigmatic to her?

She's met Jordi, heard about what happened with Damien and has been helping him with Maurice for a little over four months now. It's to the point where he puts his phone on speaker when he's talking with people like Badboy- there's that trust between them. Yet, there's so much about him that she doesn't know.

As she arrives at the other end of the sidewalk and begins her way on the home stretch, she decides that's a problem for another night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7.1k words,,,,, this is two times the word count of an essay i turned in for english class.
> 
> hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this. the transcripting and inner monologues took me a bit to do, but i throughly enjoyed it


	6. chapter 2- it pains me just to hear you have to say it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You knew the game and played it, it kills to know that you have been defeated. I see the wires pulling while you're breathing._  
  
(wires, the neighbourhood)
> 
> all lidia and aiden want is to push through the mandatory problems to get to what they need. sadly, those issues are the same things that plague them too often.

There's something about the early morning and late night that makes him productive.

He's really not all that sure what it is, but he knows it matters. His mind works faster, better and sharpened. After his recurring nightmare about Lena, there was something that pushed him to do important work today. He wasn't sure what when he woke up- he didn't have anyone to tail or anything specific to look for, so he decided to just help in the city. Chicago is one of those places where people are the greatest source of entertainment.

He had come to discover a premeditated murder whilst being planned. Luckily, the perpetrator was close to his location and he was able to stop the crime before it happened. The dead body lays in the alleyway, no remorse from Aiden as he walks away as fast as possible.

He makes his way out of the small space, rolling his eyes to himself as he hears his phone buzz in his pocket. "Nicky, hey… I know, I know, the party's started." He knows Jackson's birthday party is today, and although he hasn't admitted it to Lidia, he plans on going. There's an aching to see his nephew and sister again- even if he knows it isn't in his best interest.

_"It's almost over."_ His sister's annoyed voice comes through the speakers. _"Where are you?"_

"I'm on my way." He replies, deciding he'll grab his car back from his motel and head over there. He doesn't have a reason not to go, other than he's scared of how they'll react to him.

_"Ugh, you make me crazy. Jackson's really looking forward to it. Get over here. We miss you."_ Her voice is sarcastic and pushy yet sad, making him sure this is the right decision. They deserve this, even if he doesn't. They deserve to be happy, so if Nicky and Jacks want him there, he'll do it.

"I miss you too. I'll be there." He answers, calming his brain. Another call makes his phone vibrate, causing him to sigh. "Sorry Nick, I need to take this. I'll see you soon."

He hangs up and answers the other one. Just seeing the contact pop up is enough for him to sigh in annoyance. _"Good, you got out."_ The new voice echoes through the device. _"Look, if you need some wheels, give me a call. I'll set you up."_ Jordi says, referring to the car he got for him and-

Oh shit, he needs to call her too.

"Pre-owned cars?" He answers, deciding he'll talk to Lidia after this. He promised her he'd call, but got too caught up in his own head and lost track of time.

_"You'd rather register yourself at a car dealer? I don't ask questions, this guy gets me any ride I want. And you, if you need it…"_ Jordi continues on, effectively grasping Aiden's flickering attention.

"I just might. How's Maurice doing?" He asks, wanting to move the conversation along despite the helpful information.

_"Oh he's all sunshine and buttercups. I'm going to dump him at my little- dumping place."_ He replies, a flair in his voice. 

"I need him alive, Jordi."

_"Yeah yeah, alive. Whatever."_ He complains back to him, essentially using his own form of reverse psychology.

"Goes against your better nature, huh?" Aiden must admit, he likes to ruffle Jordi's feathers every now and again.

_"I'd pop him and be done, but hey, you pay me right?- I'll keep him alive as long as you want. I do work for a paycheck."_ He responds before hanging up, leaving Aiden alone with his thoughts. Now that Jordi's starting to branch out, can he really be trusted? How much does he know about the fixer? 

Upon closer inspection, probably not as much as he might believe. 

He walks back across the street to the motel, going to his parking spot. The car wasn't the best, but then again, he wasn't street racing so it was no big deal. He decides he can't prolong this any more, and touches the contact on his phone. "Please don't kill me…" He mumbles to himself as he watches the line connect, and he brings the device to his ear. There's always a bit of preparation when it comes to calling Lidia- she's one of those people who can talk for two minutes or two hours.

_"Oh my god, you would not BELIEVE the morning I've had."_ Her voice echoes through the phone as he shakes his head.

"Look, Led, I'm sorry, I meant to call-" He says as he sits in the car. If he's honest, he's half prepared for her to ask him for a ride.

_"I'm not mad at you! It takes a lot for me to get mad at you. But my fucking dad, on the other hand, needs to get a reality check."_ There's this terrible aura to her, something that almost scares him for a moment. He can tell she's really upset, more annoyed than usual about her dad. She's constantly at a bad place with him, but today seems to be an abnormality.

He can’t help but scoff on the other end, covering up his silent interest. “What did he do now?” 

_“So I got home late last night, right?” _ He's completely aware of the can of worms he's about to open by letting her talk like this, but he doesn't care. He knows if she keeps everything bottled up, she's gonna explode in anger.

Just like he's done, and he won't have her making the same mistake.

"Right," he replies, giving her the benefit of the doubt as he starts the engine.

_"So last night, he was completely asleep, but Fiona waited up for me. She seemed nervous about something but wouldn't say what it was."_

"That's not a good sign." He says, matter-of-factly. Aiden pulls out of the parking lot while putting the phone on speaker and setting it in the cupholder.

_"Exactly. I come down the stairs this morning and he's sitting in the dining room all impatient, I ask him what's wrong and he said I just missed the camera crew, thank God. But then all of a sudden, he tells me I have an interview today at their station."_ Her annoyance can almost be felt through the device as he can hear her walking somewhere.

"Jesus Christ, today? He just drops it on you?" He had to agree, this was insane. How could her dad just push this on her with no warning or permission?

_"Yeah, I know right! So I start arguing with him telling him he needs to run it by me first and he says since I'm 18, he has no problem kicking me out if I don't do it."_ There's shuffling through the other side of the call as he shakes his head to himself, driving through the streets of Chicago.

"All that just because you don't wanna be on TV? He does need a reality check, you're right for once." She chuckles at the comment, a wave of relief flooding her system. There's something deep rooted in her psyche that makes her nervous about saying something wrong. Maybe it's repressed from her dad, maybe it's remnants of her mom's departure; either way, it's nice to hear him agree.

_"I literally almost took the offer, but I don't have anything lined up so it's not worth it. I mean, I probably could have found a cheap pla- yeah, that's fine."_ She interupts herself mid-sentence, causing him confusion.

"Where are you?" He asks, wondering what all the movement and that sudden change of pace is all about.

_"Would you believe me if I said WKZ?"_ She responds, and the clarification makes her opposite thoughts understandable.

"Already? This early?" He acknowledges, trying to sympathize with her plight. He has no idea how overwhelming this must be, but at least he can be there for her.

_"Early? It's almost eleven."_ She giggles, knowing he's exaggerating to make her feel better. Or... is he really?

"Led, you don't get up until ten usually. Sometimes after. This has to be early for you. Wait, what time did you get up?" 

_"Like, nine, maybe?"_ Her responds comes with a soft snicker, and he feels better just hearing that tone in her voice. It's the little things to make her feel comfortable.

"See, there you go. It's too early for your dad's bullshit." She can't help but agree with his sentiment. "Kid, if you're really against this, you can live with me until you find somewhere to go." He can't really believe the words he's saying, but he's truthful. If it's gonna put them in danger, it's better to just cut their losses.

_"Appreciated, but it's fine. I'll just watch my tongue, and divert any questions about you guys."_ The sentence comes out half-mumbled and quiet. He can tell she's close to some of the executives from the station, causing her to speak quietly to avoid being detected. _"Oh yeah asshole, are you going to Nicky's? I got distracted."_

He rolls his eyes with a slight laugh. "You don't forget anything, do you? Yes, I'm heading there now." He thinks for a minute before he smirks. "You wanna ditch and come with me?"

She has to stifle a laugh. _"Shut up! Shut-"_ She cuts herself off whilst trying not to laugh, causing him to laugh in turn. _"Fuck you, you almost got me caught. But no, I can't and I won't. Even if you were serious, I wouldn't go."_

"Damn. Well, anyways, be careful okay? Don't slip up, no pressure." He responds, trying to calm her nerves but keeping her focused.

_"I'm gonna make something up if they ask me about you or DedSec. We'll be fine. Get your shit together and go see your sister, I'll talk to you later."_ Lidia urges, knowing they both need to get going.

"Yeah, of course. I'll keep in touch. Do you know what time they're airing the interview?"

_"I'm gonna guess later today, especially because my dad was on earlier. They might run it through editing quickly, but God knows. It's not like they'll let me talk freely."_ She notes, shrugging. There's a good chance they're not going to just air her piece as is- there's no way her dad would let that fly, even if there's nothing important to be said.

"Stay safe, okay? Don't get yourself into too much trouble." Aiden replies, knowing she probably should leave before they get caught.

_"Yeah yeah, I got this. Bye Aiden."_ She abruptly hangs up as she thinks about a possibility of getting the interview pulled. While it might work in theory, there's a good chance she'll get busted if she tries to hack the servers. As long as she's careful, she should be totally safe- and won't have to worry about cutting it before it airs.

* * *

"I still can't believe he's putting me in _this._" Lidia exclaims as she looks over the dress for the interview in the mirror. The royal blue pleated silk makes a bow-like shape at the breast area, fake buttons bringing up the middle with thin straps connecting it. At a little higher than waist length is the horizontal seam, with the skirt part ending about ten inches from her knee.

"Honestly, it's just a way for him to show off his money. That alone was a little over $3,000." Fiona retorts as she walks towards her with the makeup palettes.

"Thank God you're in charge of that," she says as she sets down the makeup. "At least I know I'm in good hands."

If she's honest, the dress is quite pretty, and the shoes work well. The black metallic peep-toe is complimented with the blocky heel and crisscross strap. The colors compliment her well, especially the slight shimmer of the blue dress.

"Reminds me of what you used to wear." Fiona mentions, noticing Lidia's focus on the garment.

"Yeah, me too." She replies as Fiona steps in front of her to do the makeup. "Late nights with mascara and blue eyeshadow shit all over my face, so drunk I could barely stand. Yet you covered for me every single time."

"You were a stupid teenager. You never got yourself too hurt, drove drunk or got pregnant. No real reason for me to get mad at you." Fiona explains, starting to add the highlight to her eyes.

"I guess so. I just can't believe Jack never found out." There's something that makes her start calling her dad by his name as of recent. It feels better at this point- trying to disassociate from him is hard enough as it is. They sit in silence for a few moments as Fiona applies some of the makeup. It isn't too extravagant, just some light eyeshadow, mascara and contouring.

"How long has it been since you've been back here? Seven years?" Fiona asks as she looks over at the clock, making sure they have enough time. 

"Yeah, pretty sure. All they did was ask about mom. Really hope I don't get a repeat of that."

"Still pisses me off that they kept calling her Rachel Colleard."

"Same here. Or Ms. Colleard. Like Jesus Christ, salt in the wound for eleven-year-old me." Lidia replies as she watches Fiona work in the mirror. She tries not to move or shift too much, just wanting this to be over. 

"I think you're all set." Fiona finally states, looking over her handiwork. The colors, glittery and made to stand out, compliment the dress and shoes nicely. "Remember what I told you. Answer their questions, act like your dad is a wonderful person and you're-"

"Thankful to be in his presence. Yup, got it." She stands as Fiona puts everything else away, moving to allow Lidia space. "Thank you. For everything. I feel like I don't say that enough anymore." She says as Fiona walks back over to her.

"Of course." She replies, hands moving to her shoulders. "I'll be here when you're done. We can make sure everything went smoothly then get out ASAP."

* * *

A loud alarm tone from Lidia's phone effectively startles her enough to wake her. "Shit, what the- oh." She picks up quickly, trying to shake the sleep from her voice. "Whaddya want?" 

_"Jesus Christ, I called and texted you a bunch, what the hell happened?"_ Aiden's less-than-amused voice comes through the speaker as she pulls the phone back to look at the time. _Already past 6pm, dammit._

"I... uh..." She sighs, suppressing a yawn. "I was asleep. I can't even try to cover, I took a nap when I got home."

He chuckles, causing a slight smile from Lidia. _"I'm giving you coordinates, a job Jordi wants me to do. Figured you might want to tag along after today."_

She practically jumps out of bed, walking quickly to her dresser. "Don't have to tell me twice. I'll meet you there."

It's impossible for Lidia to turn down things like this, her love of her "job" always takes over. She truly is living a dream- a twisted one, maybe, but it's something she loves. The adrenaline is something she lives on, even if the danger is just as bad. She's lucky that Aiden didn't kill her when he had the chance, but who is she kidding; he _always_ has the chance.

_"On second thought, I'm coming back from a fixer hunt, I'll come get you. Be ready when I text you, I'm already late."_ He says before hanging up quickly, Lidia hurrying to throw her hoodie on, looking at her reflection in the mirror as she heads out of the room. She does a double take as she sees something reflect off the light she left on before she fell asleep. It's remnants of her glitter eyeshadow from earlier, causing her to roll her eyes and try to wipe it away. She stalls for a moment as she thinks about the last time she was serious about makeup. She only really used it when she was younger because... well, she wasn't even sure why. Most likely, it was because it was something new to experiment with, but once she had her fill, she was done. 

And she went to parties. It was a culture thing.

She rushes out of her room and whirls into the kitchen, planning on eating a quick snack before leaving. It's gonna be a long night, she's sure of that.

* * *

Lidia barrels down the sidewalk before quickly jumping into the passenger seat of the car waiting for her. "God, I need this." She sighs as she leans back against the seat. 

"Figured as much." Aiden replies as she flips open the mirror on her side and wipes at her face again, feeling like she didn't take care of all the glitter.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't answer the first time, I was out like a light." She says, trying to not make her movements too obvious. Eventually, she decides it's a lost cause and shrugs as she looks over to him. There's a sinister feel to him in this light, something she silently loves. It evokes some emotion between happiness and fear. If she has to guess, it's due to the thought that he could kill her in a millisecond, but she feels so at home when she's doing these things.

"It's fine, nothing too serious." He replies as she starts rubbing at her face again, this time with him clearly noticing it. "Jordi just called me and said he had a driving job, some delivery- you okay?" She tries to cover as he pays attention to her motions, now rolled to a stop at a sign.

"Yeah, I'm good, just the makeup from earlier. Feels like I didn't get all of it off." There's no need to try and make something up, considering he knows where she was. 

"Oh yeah, how was that mess?" He asks, his sudden sympathy taking her by surprise.

"Exactly that- a mess. I mean, to me it was. I had to avoid questions more than I dodge bullets with you." She refutes, causing him to chuckle. "I looked nice for once in my life, though. So that's something."

"Oh shut up. You look nice all the time." He attempts a compliment, causing her to laugh.

"Okay, thank you kindly, but was that _flirting_ I heard?" She jokes, causing him to playfully roll his eyes.

"Please, you're not that lucky." He comments, the banter returning to them quickly as he speeds up again.

She sarcastically covers her mouth at the retort. "Was that it again? Damn, okay, I'm gonna get dangerously hot and bothered if you keep that up."

"I'd die before I'd flirt with you, that's a promise. It was a compliment."

She shakes her head, laughing. "No shit, Sherlock." Aiden and Lidia have that weird relationship where they can cross way too many lines and it never matters. In a way, they keep each other in check by doing that.

"Okay but seriously, we're going to deliver some guy. He wanted the best driver in Chicago apparently." He comments, a smirk still on his features.

"Won't it be suspicious if I show up?" She worries, not about to get them both caught for something easily avoidable.

"See, that's the thing; I don't trust this job one bit." He replies, and she notes the mildly concerned tone in his voice.

"So I'm bait now? How will that help?"

"You're backup. If shit goes sideways, you're gonna be the one to help me. You ride shotgun with our weaponry in the glovebox." He replies, trying to calm her. They can't go into this haphazardly, or it'll probably all go wrong. "My instincts tell me Jordi gave me this for a reason- and it's probably one I don't wanna know about."

"Well that's not comforting, but let's do this."

He chuckles as he takes a quick glance at her. "Your enthusiasm is noted."

Lidia rubs her eyes again, sighing and leaning back into the chair. He shakes his head as he can see her movements out of the corner of his eye. "What's wrong?"

She shrugs her shoulders before looking away. "I'm fine."

He pokes at her shoulder, causing her to turn back to him. "Seriously, Lidia, save it."

"Everytime I'm forced to be the perfect corporate daughter, I'm just reminded how screwed I am if we slip up." She huffs as she finishes the sentence. "I mean, think about it. If he finds out I'm Vital, he'd probably throw me in jail. He'd throw his own daughter under the bus for his job." He wishes he could admit she's wrong. "If he finds out I'm working with you and Jordi-? Hell, might as well look for my body in a ditch somewhere." She clears her throat to try and dispel any potent emotions, but she's too late.

Aiden can't help but feel the pain in her voice. He knows this hurts her, even if she doesn't want to accept it. As much as she loves these jobs, they're incredibly mentally taxing. "I've told you before, and I'll say it again," he responds. "You're free to leave whenever you want."

She laughs, and he's caught off-guard. "Never. We signed that shitty contract after Kinderhook, I'm not going anywhere."

Deep down, he knows she's right. She won't leave all this behind, no matter the cost. Somewhere in his subconscious, he's happy she has his back.

"You actually remember that night? You were so trashed." He chides, recalling the drink-to-forget session they had after a horrendous job.

"I literally think I have never gotten so drunk in my life." She responds with a nostalgic tone. "It was so stupid, but I mean, we lived and had a good time." 

"And we signed a contract with at least five spelling errors in it."

Lidia laughs as she shakes her head. "Yes, yes we did." Her gaze lingers on him for too long, a soft smile forming across her features.

Despite her rising fear of their next job, she feels content for the first time that whole day.

The two pull into a parking lot in The Loop, turning the car off for a moment as Aiden's phone begins to ring. "Yeah," He says as he answers.

_"Where the fuck you been!? It's gone to shit! Fuck man, it's all gone to shit."_ The upset voice of the client comes over the phone, effectively putting the two seated in the car into a work mindset.

"I'm on my way." Aiden orders back, putting the car in drive and pulling out of the parking spot. 

_"Hurry man, the cops are gonna find me. Hurry!"_ He hangs up as Lidia kicks open the glove compartment. She looks over Aiden's weaponry now sitting in the area, making a mental note to move it when they pick up the cargo. She adds her gun and her ammo, wanting to keep everything in order.

"So what about this job makes you suspicious again? It seems pretty normal to me." She remarks as she tries to organize their guns and ammo. If she's honest, she can understand the nervousness of this set-up, but Aiden seems like a whole different breed of concerned.

"It just seems too… sloppy. I mean, think about it; Jordi lined up this deal but didn't follow through, then practically threatens me when I didn't take it at first. Wouldn't he have made the deal with me if he was dead-set on me working it?" He explains while she glances over the safety triggers on the arsenal.

"You gotta remember, this is Jordi we're talking about." She remarks as she decides everything looks ready and closes the compartment.

"Still. It doesn't sit right with me."

"Aiden, _nothing_ sits right with you anymore."

"Can you even blame me?" As much as he might try, he can't deny, she's not wrong. He always has his suspicions, even if he hasn't been given a reason to question everything. There's a moment or so when she's looking at him, trying to get inside his head, but his mind is built like a fortress. The rest of the car ride is spent in a silent yet not uncomfortable atmosphere. A couple of stolen glances and highways later, Lidia still is unable to decipher why Aiden seems so shaken about this job. There has to be something else he's not telling her. They park the car in front of an older building, walking through an alley or two before arriving at the garage. The car is off, bullet holes in the sides. They approach slowly.

"I hope you have an invitation or you're dead." The frantic man asks, needing to ensure his safety as he waves a gun around from Lidia to Aiden.

"I'm the driver." Aiden fires back, slipping into his calm and expressionless demeanor. Then again, his scarf is helping with that. Lidia's eyes turn to a steely expression, glancing between the two of them to add an air of threat.

"Fuck man, what took you so long? You got a car? This thing's shot to hell." The other man lowers his weapon, realizing Aiden is the guy he's looking for.

"No. My rules, your car. That's the job." Aiden has a way of intimidating people with simple sentences, stating the facts to make his effort. He doesn't acknowledge the fact that they drove here, previous car sitting in a spot on the street.

"Who the hell is she?" His panicked voice returns again, noticing Lidia carrying the weapons.

"I'm insurance." She states nonchalantly, stepping towards the car silently in her Converse. "You fuck around and I make sure things go smoothly, whether you like it or not." She watches as he looks to the guns in her hands before sighing.

"Alright well, c'mon, let's go!" Lidia and Aiden enter the car upon request, and instantly, she can't help but feel different. She doesn't get rattled by anything easily. It takes a lot to freak her out, although she's usually described as overly cautious. She probably _is_ sensitive for her line of work, but it doesn't change the fact that she's good at what she does. Nonetheless, the atmosphere makes her nervous. She couldn't understand when Aiden said something before about this job feeling off, but now… it makes sense. It's enough to make her tap his shoulder as they stall in the garage for a moment.

"Hm?" He tries to keep a blank demeanor, not wanting to alert their client.

"Something's wrong." She whispers, so quiet that Aiden has to practically read her lips to understand her. She passes his gun over to make it look as if that's the sole reason for the exchange.

His eyes say it all, showing something between _I told you so_ and _be on alert_ as he takes the instrument.

"Everything went to shit." The client begins to ramble. "Eddie's dead, I left him back there. Oh man, the cops came out of nowhere! This is bad." He continues as they pull out of the garage. "Just follow the route and keep an eye out. The cops are still searching." He tries to tell Aiden what to do, acting as if this is his first time.

"Your route's gonna get us killed. Sit back and keep quiet." He barks back, Lidia looking too focused to pay full attention.

"Just stick to the plan. I know what I'm doing!"

"That how your buddy wound up deal? Just keep your head down." He demands again. this time the client obeying. Through Lidia, he's learned just how useful shutting up the buyer can be.

Unfortunately, that doesn't last long. "Is she hired or do you know each other?" 

"Hired, but we've known each other for a while." Aiden replies, sure that casual information won't lead to anything too disastrous.

"Why don't you just shut up and let us worry about driving your ass, okay?" He can tell she's going for the hostile approach tonight.

The client scoffs as Lidia glances to Aiden for approval. "Is she always like this?"

"Usually, yeah. Quit complaining, we'll handle this." He responds, covering for her. She looks to him before pointing up and down, a silent question of whether she's too strong. He shakes his head, signalling that she's doing fine. He slows the car as they round the first corner, seeing the flashing blue and red lights. They stop and he shuts off the engine, stalling so they look like a normal parked car. The entire team seems to hold their breaths as the cops pass. Aiden quickly turns the engine back on and cuts across the street and into an alley directly across from them.

"So come on, what's the plan. Talk to me." The man in the back asks, trying to provoke something from the duo in the front seats.

"You need to calm down," Aiden responds as he comes to an intersection in the backstreet. "They've got the island locked up. We'll stick to the back alleys, garages- keep out of sight." He makes a left hand turn. "If you see me kill the engine and cut the lights like earlier, keep quiet. We're just an old parked car. Understand?" His explanation distracts from the new turn onto a main street.

"If worse comes to worst, we brought the cavalry for a reason." Lidia comments, noting the weapons they all are carrying.

"Yeah, yeah- okay." He replies, still taken aback by the whole situation. "Shit, my hands won't stop shaking. You ever seen a guy shot in the guts before?" They turn left again, noting the police behind them, far enough that they remain unseen. 

"Too many." Aiden's not-so-subtle reply has Lidia wondering how much they should be revealing to this client. They continue down the road in silence for a bit, watching the helicopter lights above them sweep the streets.

The quiet doesn't last long as the panicking man begins again. "Come on man, talk to me. I'm freaking out here." His tone suddenly changes to something hopeful. "Maybe Eddie's alive. He took one to the belly. I heard that's the best place to get shot. Is that true?" 

"A wound like that can go either way." Aiden practically mumbles through the first bit of his statement. "If the bullet doesn't go right through, you're looking at a lot more collateral damage." He makes another left turn, then a right after travelling a little further.

"Look, the cops are looking for a culprit so they can get answers. There's a good chance Eddie'll get an escort to the hospital and live. If he doesn't..." Lidia pauses, taking in her own comment. "You can't blame yourself for what went wrong.

_Well that wasn't targeted at all._ Aiden thinks to himself as they take a left at a stop light. Her wit is becoming more and more centralized around him as of late, and maybe it's a reminder he needs every so often.

"You said you guys have seen a lot of gut shots. How many of them lived?" The criminal asks, still hung up on his wounded friend.

"Lived?" Aiden remarks sarcastically. "Let's concentrate on getting you out, okay?" 

They continue down the street, realizing they've all but lost all the cops on their tail. Lidia breathes a sigh of relief as they wind around corners, making their way to the final drop point. "Okay... we're here." The client starts. "We did it. There's some guys meeting us. Don't fuck it up now." She holds back a laugh, unbelieving that this guy is still trying to tell them how to operate.

"What the fuck..." The man in the back seat says as they approach the garage where they're supposed to drop him. "That's Lucky Quinn. Why's the Club boss meeting us?" 

Aiden rolls to a stop in front of Quinn and his body guard, leaning against another car. "He's not meeting us. He's meeting you."

Lidia feels like she can't form any words. Her blood runs cold, body stiffening as she carefully watches the movements of the men in front of her. She's sitting in a car with the Vigilante, staring down the boss of Chicago's most powerful crime syndicate. What the hell has she gotten herself into?

The client gets out of the car hesitantly. Clearly he was unaware of this setup, taking both Aiden and Lidia by surprise. As the door shuts, she can practically hear her heart beating. "Aiden?" She chokes out. "What now?"

"Stay inconspicuous. Don't give him a reason to suspect us." He says quietly, not wanting to make it look like they're obviously discussing the situation.

The conversation between the other two men seems to quickly turn deadly as Quinn laughs. It looks like something an evil villain would do during a defeat. Their original client hands over the laptop he stole to the unnamed man Quinn was standing with before they showed up. The pair in the car notice him draw a gun as they continue talking. The client tries to fight him as he raises the weapon to shoot. Aiden can hear Lidia's sharp intake of breath and he swiftly grabs her wrist. "Don't move." He mutters as shots ring out through the alleyway, the two men landing on the hood of their car. Once sure he's defeated his assailant, the client rushes back to Quinn before being met with a dagger to the neck. 

"Oh my God." She mumbles as he falls to the ground, bleeding out. The prior attacker shoots him in the head a few times for good measure as Quinn steps over the body, using his cane as if it's no big deal.

Aiden tilts his head in the opposite direction and Lidia follows suit as he rolls down the driver side window. Quinn leans against the door, trying to be courteous. "You can tell your employer I'll call again. If ever I need another delivery." They stay unmoving until he steps away from the vehicle. Aiden rolls up the window as they back out of the alley and turn back onto the main road.

Neither of them look back.

* * *

The motel is almost dead silent. The soft sounds of people outside are a quiet reminder that the world is still turning even thought it feels completely stopped for Lidia and Aiden. She sits on the couch as her eyes stay shut, yet sleep can't find her. She can't stop thinking about what happened in that alleyway. Would she have died if she wasn't careful? Would she have even had a chance to fight back? Her head picks up as she hears talking from the computers on Aiden's desk, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

_"And later tonight, a once in a blue moon interview with the daughter of the CFO of Blume corporation, Lidia Hadinson."_ The familiar voice of the WKZ announcer fills the room, causing her to lift her head up and look at the screen from her bad angle.

"Did you wait for me to watch this?" She says, mildly concerned as she glances to Aiden, tiredness evident in her voice. It's been a long day for them both. 

"Not really. It was a good coincidence, but I didn't specifically wait for you." He says, extending a beer out to her.

For a moment, she thinks about not accepting it, having enough trouble thinking straight as it is. But after contemplation, she decides her memory might luck out and purge the horrible experience. This causes her to take it, a nod of thanks as her interview blares over the speaker. If she's honest, she really thought Aiden was going to be upset with her for whatever reason. She hadn't done anything wrong, but he couldn't always convince her of that. Her eyes still hurt from the day, tired but unable to rest as her portion of the program starts.

* * *

"We're sitting here with 18 year old Lidia Hadinson, daughter of Jack Hadinson, the CFO of Blume corporation. How are you?" The interviewer asks as she nods politely.

"I'm great! It's really nice to be back after all this time." She lies, using her mastery of the technique to foil them into thinking she's just a normal girl.

"How long has it been?" The interviewer asks with a slight laugh.

"Seven years, from what I remember." She answers calmly.

* * *

Aiden can feel his eyes widening in shock as he watches the Lidia on the screen. He glances from the image to the girl sitting next to him before looking at the screen again. "I can't believe…" He flounders for words as he looks to her again, Lidia trying to suppress a laugh. "Woah." He can't tell if it's the shock of seeing her in a fancy setting for the first time or if he just can't believe she's the same person.

She stands and walks towards him, taking a drink. "Look, I know I'm hotter when I'm running around throwing hands with gang members, but-"

"Nononono, shut up." He says, extending a hand out to her. "I guess I just never thought you'd look like... that." He replies as he shakes his head. It's hard for him to imagine the same girl that threatened Maurice in the stadium getting makeup done in a dressing room.

"Look like what?" She questions.

"I can't think of the word, dammit."

"How many have you had?" She jokes, taking a drink of her own.

"Just this one, I swear."

* * *

"That was before ctOS even came out! How much has your life changed with the product's release?" The interviewer asks, cutting right to the main questions.

Lidia chuckles. "I'd hardly call it a product. It's a revolution." There's echoes of DedSec's mantra in her mind. "It changed the way this city works, and many other cities will work in the future. It hasn't just affected my life; it's changed the lives of people throughout Chicago." Her tone sounds excited for the future, but inside, her mind is screaming that this is wrong.

"A bold yet true statement. It's incredible to see the impact it's having."

"Fully agreed. It's opening doors that were previously locked tight."

* * *

"Look at you, miss scholar." Aiden comments as he listens to her ramble through the device. He turns to look at Lidia, noticing her pure silence as she watches herself in those few moments. "Hey, what's up?"

Her gaze doesn't move from the screen. "I thought about you when I said that. How it's destroyed both of us." Finally her eyes flicker back up to him. "Funny that they took it like a compliment when I was exposing the trauma it's caused."

He shakes his head as he drinks. "They're completely oblivious." 

* * *

"Well, enough about the company. How about you? How's life after high school treating you?" The anchor asks, firing questions at her.

Lidia knows she has to be careful with these inquiries. She needs to maintain an image like a princess if this is to go smoothly. "Quite well, actually." She lies through her teeth. "I've had some time to myself and I've started night school, which is amazing."

"On the fast track to a university, I suppose. Good for you."

She laughs off the misstep. "Not exactly. I haven't figured out what I want to do yet. I love computers, but I haven't found the right course for me, if that makes any sense." She adds that last statement to make her seem smarter than she is. "The night school is a way to keep going in school, but not have to pick a major. It's giving me time to think."

"Leaving the options open and going with the flow, I like it. Advice we all need now and again." The interviewer comments as she nods.

"It's definitely been eye-opening, and I've enjoyed most parts of it."

* * *

"Let me guess- that was about us too." Aiden says as he watches the present Lidia's eyes dart around the room.

"Yup." She replies, a tired rasp in her tone. 

"You emulated your dad perfectly."

She yawns as she raises an eyebrow at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He scoffs. "You sound like a pretentious prick."

All of a sudden, her expression perks up. "Perfect! That's what I was going for."

* * *

"So from what I understand, you were in the stadium last night when that blackout happened. What was the first thing that went through your mind as the lights cut?"

Lidia pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts. "My first reaction was just, something of surprise and wonder. I thought they might have blown a fuse because it was a big game and I'm sure a lot was happening on that grid." She sighs and rolls her shoulders a little, trying to keep herself calm to not get caught in her lie. "But then, as they were escorting some people out with police and I heard about the viceroys, my brain kinda worked everything out quickly."

"I'm sure you were rattled through the experience." The interviewer comments.

"Absolutely. It was scary, and I'm glad everyone is safe now."

* * *

"Nice cover." Aiden adds, feeling the tipsy buzz.

"Thanks. I tried, but I'm not sure how well it came across. I probably said too much sometimes." Lidia replies before drinking.

"It's just dawned on me that I'm giving an underage kid alcohol." He furrows his brow as he uses her head as an armrest.

She shoots him a playful glare. "You're just now realizing? I mean, we've done _way_ more illegal shit than that." 

He nods. "All true."

* * *

"I'm sure you know this question is coming, but I have to ask it. What's your opinion on the Vigilante and DedSec?"

* * *

Aiden can feel Lidia shift uncomfortably underneath his arm, moving closer to him. "I'm sure you did fine." He tries to encourage, just to earn a shake of her head in return.

* * *

"That's a hard question for me to answer." Lidia starts, trying to make it look like she's thinking about what she saying. "From a computer and engineering standpoint, what they're doing is actually really interesting. But then there's the moral civilian standpoint that makes you question that, you know? I can't really comment."

* * *

"See? He didn't suspect anything, you did fine." Aiden tries to calm Lidia as she finds herself unable to watch.

"But what about DedSec?" Of course she's going to ask that. "I don't want them to think I'm against them when I'm completely the opposite."

He removes his hand from her head and steps back to look at her. "Lidia Hadinson the celebrity is different than Lidia Hadinson the hacker. I know that, and I know you know that, so DedSec will too- when you meet them."

"Speaking of..."

"Yes, I'm bringing you with me to go meet Badboy tomorrow." After their run in with the Club, their mysterious informant called to schedule a meeting. This time, face to face.

Her face lights up, but her voice gets soft. "Really?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugs her shoulders, giving him a once over. "Thought there'd be some second thoughts after today."

* * *

"Well, thank you so much for speaking with us, Lidia. It might not be a long interview, but it's definitely important to spread your message."

* * *

Aiden practically laughs as he watches her pained expression, muting the computer. "See? Quick and painless."

"Painless?" She takes a drink, looking away as he pulls the hood off her head. "Hardly call that painless."

"Hey, they didn't ask about your mom or the rumors from last year that wound up being true anyways." He replies, rolling his neck.

"But that's the thing." She starts, and he knows she's gonna go on a rant. "Why does it even matter? Whether my mom's gone, I'm bisexual, my dad's a millionaire...? It doesn't fucking matter! I'm still just a person. I don't need this shit."

He finishes his drink before shaking his head, throwing the bottle away. "Damn, didn't think I'd bring out ranty Lidia so soon."

"I'm just being honest." She responds, flicking the brim of his hat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're wondering, both the dress and shoes are real and i used the actual prices for them
> 
> dress-  
https://www.ysl.com/us/shop-product/women/ready-to-wear-dresses-pleated-dress-in-lame-silk_cod34962674wn.html
> 
> shoes-  
https://m.shop.nordstrom.com/s/jimmy-choo-carrie-metallic-peep-toe-pump-women-nordstrom-exclusive/5328281/


	7. chapter 3- don't throw stones at me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Another day, another door. Another high, another low_
> 
> (roots, imagine dragons)
> 
> danger has weird ways of finding lidia and aiden. they have to roll with the punches, which is tiring but almost helpful.

Her turquoise eyes readjust to the low light from the monitors as she opens them. She can sense the sunlight from the window, but the curtain is drawn tight to keep it out. As soon as she tries to roll over to face the main room, she realises her space is _much_ smaller than usual. _Couch,_ her brain echoes through the haze.

Oh God, there's a bad haze.

Lidia groans as she pushes on her temples, eyes screwed shut. Forming a coherent thought is like cutting through thick jungle, a pain starting at the front of her head. It's probably been there since she woke up, but she hasn't even noticed until now.

She finishes her roll-over, looking around the motel room. She can see the empty bed closer to her, causing her to wonder where Aiden's taken off to. There's a chuckle from the center of the room as she suddenly realises she didn't see him standing at the table in her state. "Well good morning." 

"Good is not the word to describe it." Grumpy hangover Lidia is a different kind of person.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Here." He throws her a bottle of painkillers, her surprisingly catching it. Still feeling half dead, she sits up and takes three dry, throwing the bottle back when she's done. "Nice catch."

"I am nothing but a pile of regret and headache." She jokes as he shakes his head at her. 

"That's what you get for drinking three back to back." He replies as she groans again. "Quit complaining."

"What makes you so pissy this morning?" She asks, matching his tone in her voice.

"I don't know, what makes you so annoying this morning?" He shoots back at her.

She rolls her eyes, falling back into the couch. "You know you love me." 

He scoffs. "In your dreams." As he looks over to her, he can see something in her eyes that's far from physical pain. It makes her unable to look him in the eye, clearly trying to hide something. As mean as he can be to her, he knows she has her boundaries. Sometimes he still tests the line in the sand, and apparently this is it. "Hey, I was-"

"Yeah yeah, you were kidding. I know." She shakes her head, focusing on the ceiling all of a sudden. "It's not that."

So if she wasn't upset about what he said, then what _is_ she sad about? "Talk to me."

She closes her eyes, feeling the familiar spinning sensation coming back again. "I can't stop thinking about Quinn." Her voice is laced with thought and pain. 

"The chances of him recognizing you are slim to none." He tries to reassure her, knowing he probably didn't even see her. She was sitting on the other side of him and had turned away before he looked deeply in the car, so the chances of him realising the truth weren't all that big.

"Not anymore." She replies, turning to look at him, and he can see a storm brewing in her eyes. Her thoughts are turning like waves, and he can practically feel her mental agony. "Last night an interview aired with my face all over it. If he paid any attention to me, he's gonna recognize me from WKZ."

"Lidia, you look so different. The lighting was too low in the car and you had makeup on in the interview. You'll be fine, I swear."

She can't help but be fearful, but she tries to hide it better. "Did you ever figure out the word?" She asks, trying to divert the conversation to stop her from thinking about this any longer.

"The what?" He replies, an eyebrow raised. He knows what she's trying to do, but he lets her. Aiden knows it's hard to get her out of her own head, so if she needs to change the subject, so be it.

"Last night you said you couldn't think of the word for how I looked on TV. Did you ever think of it?" 

"Oh," He starts with a chuckle. "Yeah, I did this morning actually." There's a softness to his eyes that makes Lidia feel comfortable despite her rising anxiety. "It was captivating." She smiles back at him, wincing to herself at the pain from her head as he continues. "You looked incredible, sure, but when watching it was hard to look away. You held the attention." 

"Think you're biased?" She jokes as he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe just a little."

* * *

"Need a ride?" A voice calls from on the street as Lidia walks past. Her original decision to walk herself home after clearing up her hangover is now seeming like the worst idea she could've had. Her body forces her into overdrive, and he picks up pace as she replies, "I'm good." The voice sounds familiar, and it only takes her a moment to realise who it is. 

"I think you should get in the car, Lidia." _Shit, he knows who I am. I can't ignore him. I'd be in more danger if I let this go._ She thinks to herself as she rounds the corner. Despite her fear, she opens her phone and quickly dials her ICE contact before shoving it back into her pocket. 

He follows her around the corner before she puts her hands up in surrender. "Fine." She mutters, mustering up all her courage before opening the car door in sliding in. 

She can't even begin to understand why she believed him. She knew he was wrong, yet she kept wanting to forget that. Maybe she's so codependent on him now that she can't separate his ideas from hers- which is dangerous in its own right. Now she has to face the consequences.

"I understand that the hacker-" The man in the drivers seat cuts himself off, "-Vital, was it? Anyways, they attacked your high school last year, correct?" He asks, pulling away from the sidewalk.

She nods. "Yeah, they never caught who it was." Feigning ignorance is key in this situation.

"You wouldn't happen to know the perpetrator, would you?" He asks, the interrogation feeling like something out of her control. He's fully aware that there's something she's not saying, and he's determined to pull it out of her.

She stalls for a minute, pretending to think. "I remember my dad putting money into an investigation, but he never said anything about catching the person. Sorry I can't be of any help." Her last sentence is firm and final.

"You know, that was about the same time the Vigilante made headlines. Do you think it might have been him under a different alias?" He continues, rolling to a stop as the light turns red.

"Aiden? Maybe, but it seems like more of a DedSec issue." The fact that he even asks that question puts her at risk. 

He accelerates and turns left. "You speak as if you know him." He's almost sure he has her cornered now.

With that simple sentence, her mind races to find a cover. "If that's the case, then all of Chicago are his close friends." She resorts to quick wit, clearly not a good choice in this case, but at this point it's a habit.

"You know, if you're working with him, we _will_ find out." He pauses for a moment before drawing a pistol from his jacket. "Have you ever shot a gun before? It's an exhilarating feeling." She's getting tired of all his questions. If it was anyone else, she probably would have said something smart about wasting oxygen as he drives through a green light.

But she doesn't, especially as he hands her the gun.

"A game of Russian Roulette. All I ask of you. Allow me that mutual trust, and you go unharmed."

"If I refuse?"

"I pull the trigger for you." He responds as he forces the gun into her hand, revealing another weapon deeper in his clothing as he moves. She can tell from a distance that it's loaded and primed.

She decides it's now or never. With the barrel pointed to her skull, she finally lets herself go. "Look, Mr. Quinn- can I call you Lucky? I have no ties to Aiden, nor DedSec, nor Blume really. I won't be much help if you're looking for something the public doesn't have already." 

With that, she pulls the trigger.

A loud bang sounds through the car. Lucky doesn't even jump, Lidia staring straight ahead. "Was that so hard?" He asks rhetorically as she hands the gun back to him. 

"Won't people around us hear the muzzle flash?" 

He pulls onto the side of the road, parking by a stretch of sidewalk. He pushes his arm across her and pops the door open. "That's why you'd better walk fast."

Without looking back, Lidia gets out of the car and slams the door before even worrying about her next move. All she knows is that she needs to get out of there. She walks down the street, turning down different alleyways and boulevards until she's sure no one is following her. Voice shaking, she picks up her phone as she slides against the wall of an abandoned alley. "Did you catch all that?"

_"Oh my god, Lidia, get somewhere safe and stay put, I'm coming to get you."_ Aiden responds as she forces herself to stand up and press on. The streets feel like a maze, trapping her in like a mouse looking for cheese. She shakes her head as she ducks into a department store, noting the security camera by the door. She grabs the signal from the front camera before pushing into the bathroom. Lidia locks herself in a stall before watching the front doors through her phone. She bites the side of her mouth as she can feel tears threatening to roll down her face. What if the bullet was in that chamber? What if he meant to follow her to Aiden? She can't help but feel like she's being watched, even though she's completely alone. She tries to stop herself from crying too hard as her phone vibrates, a message indicating that he's waiting outside. She unlocks the stall and goes to the sink, splashing cold water on her face to try and calm herself down. Once she's sure she can handle herself without breaking down, she shoves her phone in her pocket and rushes out the door to the main floor. Finally, she sprints out the front entrance to Aiden's car. 

She throws the door open and climbs inside, Aiden starting to drive off before she can even close the door. She breathes heavily, eyes closed as she puts the seatbelt on. "It's stupid for me to ask if you're okay, I'm guessing." Aiden says, his voice sounding upset. "He didn't hurt you though, right?" He asks as he reaches for her arm.

She flinches away and nods softly before looking down at her shaking hands. "Did it really take almost being kidnapped to understand what level of shit I'm in?" 

"Lidia, look, I'm sorry. I didn't think he would…" He pauses as he tries to focus on one thought. "I didn't think." 

She's almost sure she's never heard him apologize before. "There's nothing we can do." She's mumbling to herself, barely feasible. "I'm fucked. He knows who I am and he's suspicious of us working together. If he finds out…" Her voice trails off, facing the harsh reality.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay, I-"

"Sorry's not gonna cut it this time, Aiden." She finally snaps. "I don't even blame you- I can't even blame you, it's not your fault. I just can't believe that I really thought this would go over smoothly." He can't tell if she's lying through her teeth (and she blames him for everything) or if she's trying not to blame herself.

"You're the one that got in the damn car with him. You could have died." His words quickly turn on her as her eyes shoot up to meet his. He knows he _really_ shouldn't have said that. 

"He could have shot me in the street, so I made the conscious decision to give myself a chance." She tries to defend herself calmly, but her voice is slowly raising.

"You didn't think! You had a weapon on you! You probably could have taken him!" He yells back at her. His worry turns him cold and bitter, trying to convince her that she knew better.

"He was in a sports car that can go ten times faster than I could ever run. And okay, I try to take him on the street, he shoots me, I bleed out and die. Then what?" The car rolls to a stop, as she pauses for a moment. Clearly the threat of her death is enough to snap Aiden out of his anger. "My dad, Fiona- someone who _doesn't_ know what we're doing IDs my body. They trace the texts and calls back to you. Guess what? Now I'm dead and there's a bounty on your head. What then?"

He's silent. He can't find it in himself to face her. For once in a very long time, she's rendered him completely speechless. 

"Did I make my point, Aiden? Look, maybe my sense of self preservation is off or something, which I'd believe, but I did what I thought would save both me and you." The car is pin-drop quiet, the tension still thick in the air. Lidia stays silent for a minute or two before the question rots at her brain. "What about Nicky? Have you told her?" She said it herself- there's a lot of people who don't know what they're doing.

"Can't. She doesn't want me meddling in it anymore." He whispers, a softness in his voice, clearly guilty for yelling at her before.

"She should know you just won't stop. It's kinda sad you have to go on like this."

"Sympathy doesn't look good on you. It's dangerous in our position." He fires back, voice still calmed yet now sarcastic. He can tell this is her attempt at an apology, and it's somewhat working.

"Yeah right, Mr. I Do Everything To Protect My Family and The Two Friends I Have." Her quick wit is a sign of a truce.

"Do you ever think about how different you'd be if your dad was a good person?" Aiden asks, catching her entirely off guard. It isn't uncommon for them to talk about how her dad has shaped her life, but this is different. His tone echoes more of a reflective annoyance, almost as if he's asking her about a bad test grade.

With her eyes slightly wide, she replies, "Are we talking about me or you here?"

He half-chuckles. "Both I guess. I'm specifically asking you."

"A little." Her own answer takes her by surprise. "I think about what would've happened if Mom didn't leave and, you know, if my dad wasn't as big of a prick as he is. But other than that, no." Her eyes flicker to Aiden, double-taking and staying as he glances her over.

"I guess that's a good thing." His reply has a hint of agreeance. 

"Is this all we do? Fight like cats and dogs until we realise we care and try to reverse it?" Lidia sighs, making him realise their fights always get resolved by their need for companionship. No matter what they've said, they go back to each other every time. The line in the sand gets pushed more than it should, but yet, there's no malice.

"It works, doesn't it? Our anger issues get a release and we realise we're really just stupid people in a stupid world." He comments as they arrive at the motel. She barely even noticed they were travelling- her mind was too preoccupied.

"In a backwards way, yeah, it does." She shakes her head with a laugh as he turns off the car.

* * *

"So how's this supposed to help again?" Lidia asks, annoyance evident as she throws him her hoodie. Now stationed inside the motel, the two decided it was best if she didn't walk home right away, just to be safe.

"It'll make sure he didn't put a tracker on you." He catches it and lays it against the back of a plastic chair. "Especially if you're coming with me to meet with Badboy. We're not leading him to our number one contact." He grabs an RFID wand and waves it over the jacket, looking for any red flags.

"I mean, I think I'd know if he slipped a tracker in my pocket. He didn't knock me out, so I was conscious and functioning the whole time." She responds, almost laughing at the thought of there being a hidden device somewhere. A pen comes flying at her as she says this, seemingly materializing out of thin air. She catches it, only flinching a little.

"Told you." He says, matter-of-factly.

She studies the black ink utensil for a moment before rolling her eyes. "This is mine." She states, proving him wrong. "I was wondering where this went." She continues under her breath.

"My point still stands. You didn't even know it was there." 

She shrugs, stepping closer to him. "What're you so cocky for, then?" He sighs loudly as he continues searching through it. "You know it works me up, huh?" She says through under her lashes, voice a little higher pitched with a trail-off at the end.

"What did I do to deserve this torture?" He groans, shoving her away playfully. "You're so damn flirty." 

"Like I said earlier, you know you love me." 

"And like I said earlier, do I really?" He responds, shooting her a sideways glance. He waves the wand over the jacket again before throwing it back to her. "You're clean, minus the pen. You might want to take that apart and check, though." 

She rolls her eyes again, getting annoyed with his detail work. "It was left over from when I went to the baseball game, no big deal." She looks over the device, looking for an easy way to take it apart. "I'll check it if it makes you shut up, though." She mumbles as she begins to disassemble the pen, a silent smirk appearing on Aiden's face. He knows she's more frightened than she lets on, but she's very good at hiding it. 

"I already scanned it, it's fine. I was kidding. _Somewhat."_ He shakes his head as he looks over her timid figure. Her worry is quietly shown in her eyes and the way she reacts to everything he says. The encounter clearly startled her, and her attempt at saving face is only making things worse.

The slight pause is cut off by a ringing phone, specifically his. He digs it out of his pocket before picking up, already knowing who it is. "What's up?" 

_"Have you watched WKZ from last night? Something you might wanna see."_ The distorted voice of Badboy rolls through the speaker, causing Lidia to raise an eyebrow. She points at herself as she looks at Aiden, and he nods.

"With Hadinson's daughter? Yeah, why would I be interested?" He asks in return, wondering if Badboy can see through Lidia's façade. 

_"Do you think she may be a threat?"_ Aiden could hear that question coming from a mile away. He knew Badboy was going to want to know anything he had on Lidia, but he didn't expect the mystery informant to call when she was standing right next to him.

He glances to her, noticing she's completely in her own world. It's as if she faded from reality as soon as she heard the first question. In the time that he answered the call to the time that he looked to her, she moved to sit on the floor. Legs crossed and eyes flickering around the room, he can tell this is a little too overwhelming for her right now. "No, I don't think she'll be a problem." He finally responds.

Her head picks up to look at him, and she feels like a small child compared to Aiden. Her tired stance shows signs of paranoia long buried in the back of her mind, just threatening to now bare their teeth. She's clearly running through a ton of situations in her head, trying to find a logical reason to all this is happening so quickly. 

"_You sure?"_ Badboy questions, as an answer nonetheless. _"If she's an issue, we need to tie this up before it gets worse. Bigger than us, even."_

"I'm sure." His response is firm, leaving no room for further pressing. "You may change your mind after our… meeting." He winks at Lidia, causing a slight smile to return to her. 

A lightness comes to her eyes, bringing her spirits up just a little. "Thank you." Lidia whispers, earning a nod in return.

_"If you're sure, then I'll take your word for it. See you tonight."_ The line goes dead, and he places the device back in his pocket.

"Great, my only tie to DedSec and the owner of the Club are on my ass. Exactly what I'd expect on a casual afternoon." She complains to Aiden, rolling her neck. "I hate this so much." She mumbles, her sarcasm quickly replaced with genuine sadness.

He extends his hand out to her, which she takes and uses as balance as he pulls her up. He overshoots just a little, causing her to hop up and stumble towards him slightly. His hand unlocks from hers as he can see that she's still in deep thought. "Go home."

"What?" The words surprise her, knowing there's probably more work to be done.

"Get some rest, make up a cover story for Fiona, whatever. I need you ready for tonight." He restates, trying to convince her it's worth the wait.

She nods, clearly not wanting to leave but understanding. Pulling her jacket onto her shoulders, she pauses, trying to figure out what to say. She gathers her things, dragging her thoughts to align. "You know I love you, right?" Her love for Aiden is like a love for a best friend- she's vowed to stick by his side, no matter what. 

The sentence makes him freeze, looking to her like he's seen a ghost. Her eyes flicker down, focusing on some random spot on the carpet. "Forget I said anything." She mumbles, pulling her hood to the top of her head before turning for the door.

"And I know you can handle yourself." There's something in his tone that makes her all too aware that she isn't facing him. She turns back, a soft smile crossing her features. He flips her off, earning a laugh in return as she walks out the door, knowing that's the only sympathy she'll get from him.

* * *

Lidia went home to calm herself down and make up some excuse for Fiona, realising that tonight is going to be big for her and Aiden and she wouldn't have her usual "night classes." He called her only an hour ago, deciding that bringing two cars to the meet-up point wasn't a bad idea. As they walk towards the steps that lead into the lower area of the subway, he shakes his head. "I've hired Badboy before and he's always protected his identity." They pause and lean against the railings. "That's how DedSec works. But now he wants to meet; that's unusual." 

"I mean, what can we do? Clearly he has his reasons." 

He sighs as they continue down the stairs. "I'll try to shake him off his game. Let's see what he's up to…"

She tries to say something in protest, knowing a violent or assertive approach isn't smart- but before she can even get the words out, he's already ahead of her and down the stairs.

"Badboy…" Aiden says as he approaches a man at the bottom of the steps. 

"What?" He replies. 

"Badboy… 17?" Aiden repeats as Lidia raises an eyebrow. She's sure that they both probably look like druggies searching for a fix, and she almost tries to pull him back to talk some sense into him.

"What the fuck, man?" The random person says as he walks off. She rolls her eyes as she makes sure the man doesn't call the cops as he strides away from them.

As Aiden turns towards him, Lidia focuses her attention back to the advertisement screen they saw as they walked down. In front of her eyes, it glitches out and forms new words from black and white. She hits his arm, causing a startled groan from him as he notices what she's looking at. He turns back to see the electrical billboard change to say BEHIND YOU. The two whirl around, looking for the source.

"Badboy 17?" Aiden calls again, this time with more conviction.

"Clara." An accented voice calls from the shadows of the subway, compelling them to walk that way. 

They step over to the trashed area next to the steps, following the sound. "Clara?" Lidia calls out, treading cautiously behind him. 

The figure steps out of the darkness to reveal a woman, looking between 20-30 years old. Her hair is brown and short at the top, cut into a mohawk with white highlights. It continues longer to about shoulder length, pulled into middle ponytails with shaved sides. Her black gauges match her black jacket, two cheek piercings on either side and a labret. A black racerback tank top with the DedSec skull on it compliments her washed out blue denim jeans and high black boots. Her black eyeliner and miscellaneous body art stands out with the Triple Valknut tattoo across her chest. Assorted necklaces, rings and bracelets adorn her body, black nail polish topping everything off with a brown belt and a spider web buckle. 

"You don't look 17." Aiden says, almost in astonishment. It's all Lidia can do to keep from letting her jaw drop. 

"Do I look like a Badboy?" The newly-named Clara responds, and Lidia already feels out of place.

"You look like a wild card." He responds with a tone that sounds like he's evaluating her.

"I hope I don't frighten you." She starts to circle him, causing Lidia to walk closer.

"What, do you have a reason to frighten me?" His sarcastic question brings up a good point.

"Now you're being paranoid."

"Am I? Someone is fucking with my life, threatening my family, and at the same moment, the mysterious BadBoy wants to meet, and he is a she." His words effectively stop her pacing as he steps closer to her, grabbing her by the shoulder and thrusting her back towards the metal bars. "He is a lie."

"Hey, back off." Feeling bold, Lidia forces herself to rebuttal his threats. She steps out from her spot behind him, Clara now taking an interest in her. "Don't scare her off now." 

"So this is what you meant by changing my mind." She responds, glancing her over as realisation crosses her features. "Lidia Hadinson. In the flesh." 

"In your world, I'm Vital. But I guess we're well past that boundary." All her willpower contributes to her calmness, although it feels like she's meeting a celebrity.

"The Cypress hack. Nice work, even if it's greenhorn." Clara can remember the press outcry from that attack because Jack Hadinson spoke out that he was worried for his daughter. Now she can see Lidia clearly wasn't in any danger.

"Thank you." 

"You put on a good show for the press." Her compliments are a mixture of statements and observations, trying to get an understanding.

"No one suspects a thing."

"Listen," Aiden interjects, hand still on her shoulder. "We need to trust you, Clara." Getting impatient again, Lidia grabs Aiden by the shoulder and tugs him back. He swats at her hand but effectively misses, getting him away from Clara but giving him a reason to snap at her later.

"I wouldn't trust me if I were you. But here's a reason to listen." Clara decides to give them what they need, not wanting to create more conflict. "The text message you sent me? I know where to find him."

"Yeah, well we don't need to meet face-to-face for that." He glares back at Lidia before taking a step back or so.

"No." Lidia's voice is firm, almost demanding. "This is good. It'll put more reliance into this... relationship." He's surprised by her sudden assertion, clearly something about this meeting giving her strength.

"Besides, we needed to meet so I could give you this." Clara brings out a phone, holding it away from their reach.

"Dedsec's system hacks." Lidia sighs in awe. "This is the shit of dreams." She bites her lip, knowing it's going to be powerful in their hands. 

"You got me in." Aiden comments, brows furrowed. 

"Huh?"

"I made a run by the ctOS Loop server box." He says, looking back to her for a moment. "I thought I got myself in, but apparently not." 

"You should be nicer to me." Clara's arm drops. "I'm about to open your world."

"Yeah, well you're not the first woman to promise me that." Aiden quips, provoking an eye roll from Lidia.

Clara makes a come hither motion with her hand, wanting to transfer the files. "Both of yours, preferably. Unless you're remoting from one." Lidia and Aiden hand over their phones, and she holds them like playing cards. To some extent, the analogy makes sense. The two devices are like secret weapons, cards in their hands to play when they need. "They do all their nasty work through this… and they don't know I have access." She activates the transfer, wirelessly copying the hacks and training onto the two phones. 

"You stole it." Lidia sounds surprised, excited and all too intrigued.

"This is powerful." Clara, giving a clear warning, is heavy with her words. "Just don't be stupid. You screw around and you get people hurt. Or worse." They all know way too much about that, but they hide it well.

"Hm, well I don't think you trust me." Aiden comments and Clara fakes him out with his phone.

"Give me a reason to trust you." She fires back, handing them their phones but putting Lidia's first. "Both of you. Don't think you're off the hook just because you'd be a killer contact." She aims at her, and she nods in response.

"Alright. The guy who sent this text; how do we find him?" Aiden is quick to move onto the next parts, wanting to get all the information he can.

"We work together. You two with everything I sent, me tracking his signal." She slips away from both of them, walking back towards the steps. Lidia stays, dumbfounded by the identity of their newest companion.

"You're not quite what I expected." He calls as she starts to walk up the stairs. 

"And you're exactly as I expected, _Aiden_." Her pronunciation of his name breeds conflict, knowing she's testing him. "Keep an eye on him, will you?" She quips to Lidia.

"Yeah, I'll do my best. You just keep in touch." Lidia's response is surprisingly assertive and almost confusing, but Clara knows she's taking a nicer approach with a still point. She gives her a two finger salute before watching her walk up the steps.

* * *

"So, you want to explain that little show?" By the time Aiden and Lidia make their way up the stairs, Clara is already long gone. There's this air of tension between them, mostly created by the way Lidia tried to one-up Aiden before. The two pace laps around alleys and sidewalks, waiting for the next sign from Badboy, now known as Clara.

She shrugs, trying to be nonchalant. "I didn't think the aggressive approach would do us any good. All you did was scare her."

"Intimidation, Lidia. It's called intimidation." He explains, knowing force has never been her strong suit. She'd rather be behind a screen, investigating through cameras and poking around mainframes.

"Yeah, I know. I figured that out. I did that at the stadium, remember? Just didn't think this was the right time." She comments, words punctuated with a cross of her arms.

Before he can begin to protest, his phone vibrates. He rolls his eyes at Lidia before answering it. _"Hey."_ The distorted voice of their new friend crackles through the line.

"Am I talking to Badboy or Clara?" His voice is practically complaining, causing Lidia to hit his arm lightly. He shoots her a glare and moves on.

_"Let's make it easy."_ There's silence for a moment or so as the quiet static dissipates, turning her voice to normal. _"Voila. So we need to track your caller. But he's sneaky. He's bounced his address through a ctOS office tower. Client services, employees and executives, things like that."_

"An office tower..." His voice trails off as he looks to Lidia, and she knows what he's implying. 

_"We need to find a way into the system. You get me in, I get you his location."_ Lidia slowly comes to the realization of what the glance meant, and a smirk forms on her face.

"I might be able to help with that." She interjects, a snicker in her tone.

_"If anything, you're our wild card. Think you can pull off something like that?"_ Clara asks, completely rhetorically, as she's figured out that she's more than capable.

"I can walk in there like I own the place. Piece of cake." She replies, knowing she'll be going in alone.

"Good plan." Aiden concludes, putting the idea into motion. "Hey, I'm sorry I was- rough, before." He directs his attention back to Clara, feeling like Lidia's right; he may have gone a little overboard.

_"I know what you were doing- trying to intimidate me. Very textbook. Stepping into my personal space, the stare, physical contact. You were trying to look for cracks. So did you find any?"_ Clara explains, clearly not fazed by Aiden's attempt to throw her off her game.

"Wouldn't you love to know." He comments, and with that, they end the call. He takes a pause and a sigh. "Corporate building, pretty close by right?"

Lidia nods, and they both spot an empty parked car across the street from them, an idea forming.

* * *

The door swings open as Lidia steps into the main floor of the ctOS office building. Tall metal sculptures adorn the center area on a gear that allows them to spin, stairs to the upper levels on the sides. "Remind me who I'm looking for again?" She questions through her wireless headset with one ear in, disguising as a way to listen to music passively.

_"Bradley Caughlin. Ironically a security director. Locate a guard with the access code and we'll go from there."_ Clara responds through her earbud. 

Lidia takes her phone out of her hoodie pocket, taking a couple steps forward into the room. She opens her profiler and begins to scan the different security officers while waltzing around casually.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be here." One of the officers calls to her, causing her to look up. "Are you lost?"

_"I thought you said they'd know you."_ Aiden retorts, completely annoyed. The whole plan rides on her being able to get in and out undetected, so the spotting isn't going to help them.

Without missing a beat or even acknowledging his comment, she looks over the guard with a cocky smirk. "Do you know who I am?" She scoffs, continuing to walk as if he never bothered her. The guard quickly figures out who she is, letting her pass with nothing but a mumbled appology.

_"Damn Led, cold blooded."_ Aiden jokes, able to hear her response as she tries to cover for them.

Names flicker by on her screen, followed with extra details. Criminal records, other occupations and personal details pour in from the sources. Finally, she finds the name attached to the code, one Jeremiah Mouritz. She casually strolls all the way to the back wall, hacking into his phone from hers. She grabs the access code, keeping it noted as she steps up the stairs to the second story.

A couple of security officers pass her going down the stairs, nodding hellos as they recognize her. She smiles, acknowledging them as she walks with no issues. _"Second set of doors on the left, should be a terminal in there."_ Clara explains, and Lidia quickly pushes through the opening. 

"Christ, they're propagating even in their own building." She mutters to the two on the phone as she takes a seat on the couch near the service box. She grabs the signal from the nodes and gets to work, breaking through the firewall and server until she makes her way into a camera of the security director's office.

"Oh, this is perfect." She comments, laughing to herself as she hacks into his laptop and installs the virus, watching as it begins to upload. 

"Oh shit. Someone's hacked in. Fuck me! Lock down the building. Find him now!" The owner of the computer says as he turns around to realise his machine is getting attacked.

"Hey, that's sexist." Lidia jokes as she backs out of the security camera, cutting off the signal. She shoves her phone in her pocket quickly as the alarms begin to sound. "What's going on?" She feigns ignorance as she walks out of the room she was hiding in.

"Miss Hadinson, we will escort you to the front entrance. Someone dangerous is in the building and we don't want you in danger." A guard says as he grabs her shoulder softly to bring her out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when i had an upload schedule??? at this point it's hoping i get one done a month. i appreciate you all so much tho, thank you for the love


	8. chapter 4- as if I knew what to do before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Because that would feel normal, and none of this does; I don't think that i would exactly call it love_
> 
> (banks, lincoln)
> 
> aiden is wrong, but he doesn't want to admit it. lidia is only making it worse. as jordi says, it's he-said-she-said bullshit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know what i put as the description and ive said this before but imma say it again merely for good measure- LIDIA AND AIDEN ARENT IN LOVE. THEY DONT HAVE CRUSHES ON EACH OTHER. they just genuinely care about each other lol

"So what are we looking at here?" Lidia asks, sitting parked in her car. She was able to escape Blume undetected, no one realising that she was the hacker. The guards led her right outside to her car, not even concerned.

_"Looks like the call came from an apartment in the Loop."_ Clara answers to both Lidia and Aiden. _"Should be seeing the address… now."_ The two receive the location on their phones, but Clara interjects before either can plug it into a GPS. _"Be careful. From the way he's bouncing his signal around, it looks like he wants you to find him."_

_"Wouldn't want to disappoint."_ Aiden responds, and Clara hangs up to leave the pair alone. _"I'll meet you there, sound good?"_ He says to Lidia, more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah, alright. Hopefully we can take this out quickly." Lidia says and hangs up, pulling out of her sidewalk parking spot. She turns onto the main road, already mentally prepping for the attacker she will have to face. What does this guy want with Aiden anyways? She might not be the best at reading him, but she knows he's nervous. Something tells her he knows the address somehow, and he almost told Clara not to give it to her. From what she can understand, the caller doesn't know she's involved. Aiden wants to keep it that way; whoever this guy is, he doesn't need to know about their partnership. There's something that feels like he knows this is a consequence, and he's determined to keep it a secret from her. Whatever it is, she finds comfort in the fact that she'll find out soon, continuing to drive.

* * *

Aiden walks up to Lidia, who's standing against a wall of an alleyway. "Took you long enough." She quips, stepping off of her spot. "Scanned the area, cops are making their rounds but our timing seems to be right. We should be clear for a bit or so." He nods silently and continues into the junction, spotting stairs and a lift. She's gotten good at hiding what she's thinking from him- a skill important when he's not afraid to get mad at her. They pick up their pace, running past the lift and up sets of stairs. She crouches down on the stairway, an extra precaution if anyone decides to come out of the doors or look out the windows on this story.

"Got it." He says as he scans a security router on the building. The IP connects, and he catches onto the signal. "Shit," he complains, "the signal is split. Should be two ctOS boxes." He looks up at a security camera, hacking into it and turning it to survey the area. "Took care of one." Aiden comments to her as he remotes into one of the signal boxes. "Think you can find the other?"

"Yeah, I'll handle it." She responds as she heads down the steps. Walking past the stairs and around the area has her avoiding palettes and scissor lifts. It looks as if construction has been halted for the time being, or maybe just for the night. She strolls past another lift, looking up and spotting another camera which she hacks into. After turning it a little, she finds the other data box and breaches it, combining the signals. She gives him a thumbs up before starting to walk back up the stairs and backing out of the camera signal on her phone.

On the other hand, Aiden reroutes back into the first security router, connecting the data streams and remoting into a camera inside the attacker's apartment. "What the hell is this?" He asks as he looks at scribbles on wallpaper. "Bellwether." 

Lidia's eyes go wide. "The scanner. Bellwether code. You've gotta be kidding me." 

He hacks into a webcam opened on a laptop, now angled at a TV on a wall. The screen has a black background, with pictures of x-rayed bones. It flickers before flashing to a message- **I SUFFERED TOO.**

A phone goes off in the messy apartment, clearly left there as a sign. Aiden hacks into the phone and answers the call, remaining completely silent. _"I knew you'd find me. You always were one for a mystery."_ The voice comes through the speaker, and he knows who it is instantly. _"How are you, Aiden? I hope you don't mind the games. Wanted to see if you'd lost your edge."_

She watches through the phone screen, listening to their discussion and shaking her head. An engine roars faintly in the background, causing her to turn her attention away from the screen. "Hey- we need to hurry." She whispers to him.

_"We need to talk. And you'll want to be quick. Breaking in like you did tripped an alarm."_ Damien continues, and Aiden nods in agreement with Lidia's previous statement. _"This isn't what I had planned for us, but we're about to be interrupted. Come find me- I'll pick someplace nice."_

A loud tire screech breaks their focus as the call ends, a red car pulling into the alleyway. Snipers and gunman begin to appear on the rooftops and higher stories. "Looks like it's time to go." She says as Aiden switches security cameras and blows up different server boxes by the marksmen. 

"Agreed." He replies as they duck down behind the railing. "Look, Led, you know under any other circumstances I'd want you to come with me."

She looks up at him, confused and worried. "What?" Bullets ring off the walls, and they can tell this is getting out of hand.

"I need to face this alone. I just don't want you in the middle of this." He continues while bringing out his pistol. 

She stalls for a moment, not really wanting to leave the problem before nodding. "We take that car and get out of here. I'll stay far off."

He begins to climb down the stairs, and she follows. "Thank you. We move fast, don't get hit."

"Easier said than done." She jokes, drawing her gun as well as she mulls over the pressing matter of Damien's request.

* * *

There's a frozen feeling in Lidia's body as she sits in her car by the Forever Sculpture. She watches near the art piece, looking for Aiden. Quietly observing is making her nervous, knowing that she's not supposed to be here. She doesn't want to go after him like this, but deep down, she knows something is wrong. There's a moment or so where she contemplates leaving- but any thoughts of abandon are gone when she sees him from a distance.

"That must be Damien." She mumbles to herself as she sees him approach another man on the other side of the statue. She never met Aiden's past mentor, and quite frankly, she doesn't want to. He told her the story of what happened with the Merlaut- Damien forced him to stay in the server and hotel longer than intended, which alerted security and another hacker in the hotel's systems. That slip up caused a hit to go out after the two men, and ended with Lena, Aiden's six year old niece, being killed. Lidia was there when the hack first happened, although she didn't know Aiden at the time. From what she understood off descriptions, Damien is an angry and vile man who will do whatever he wants to get his way. She can tell this is just a single instance of that behavior. But of course, as soon as she starts to watch them, her phone vibrates. "What's up?"

_"Do I leave the door unlocked for you?"_ Fiona asks, annoyed but also sympathetic. Lidia usually takes a house key out with her, but when she comes home at night, it's a lot noisier to unlock the door. Fiona realised this, and started to leave the back door unbolted for her when she stays out late.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll be back soon." Lidia's apology is nothing but sincere.

_"I know you're an adult and I can't control you and all that, but I do get worried you know."_ She continues, not wanting to scold her but needing to make a point.

"I know, I'm really sorry. I'll be another hour, if that." She responds as she keeps her eyes on Aiden and his conversation. So far, nothing seems too dangerous.

_"I'm gonna be honest with you- I know you're not in night school. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out."_ Lidia bites her tongue, not wanting to keep lying to her but knowing she can't say anything. Fiona takes a deep breath before continuing. _"Just- as long as you're safe, and you don't interfere with your father's work, I don't have a problem."_

Lidia's attention shifts; Aiden and Damien can wait for a moment or so. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm honestly sorry." She doesn't want to admit that she isn't safe or staying away from her father's work. "I promise one day I'll be able to explain all of this, and I won't have to do this anymore, and everything will be fine. That day just isn't today. Please don't tell Jack."

_"You are so lucky I actually care about your freedom. Text me when you're close to the house, I'll make sure the door is quiet."_ Fiona concludes, hanging up afterwards. 

Lidia hopes that she'll be able to make sense of everything soon.

* * *

_There was a second hacker._

Aiden knows who it is the moment Damien says that sentence.

Her, the same girl who he trusted with his life, not even a year ago. The same girl that he taught and worked with for no reward or worse consequences. 

Lidia Hadinson was behind the death of his niece the whole time, and she's been playing him so bad, he doesn't want to admit he's wrong.

Wrong to trust her. Wrong to care for her. Wrong to believe her. _Wrong._

That thought tears at his mind, causing him to growl slightly. "Fuck her." He mumbles to himself.

Yet strangely, he can't bring himself to think about _killing her._

That was what he wanted, right? Retribution against what happened to Lena; but did he have to put a bullet in her head? After all this, could he really destroy her like that? He could destroy her dad, but she already wants to do that. Adding money back into his bank account will only piss her off, and won't prove his point.

Even through all of this, he doesn't want to harm her in any way. Why, though? Why not? Why is he all of a sudden becoming a coward?

As he's mulling everything over, that same girl comes running towards him.

"Aiden?" Lidia says as she slows down, dropping her phone into her back pocket as she meets him. After Damien walked away, Lidia decided it was best to confront Aiden about her watching. Little does she know it's not the right time. "Look, I'm sorry I got-" 

"Get the fuck away from me." He snaps as he pushes past her. 

"What?" She says, confused, as she follows behind him. 

"I said, get the fuck away from me." He repeats as he keeps walking. Anger surfaces through his voice, causing a bolt of fear to shoot through her body. He's a different kind of violent when he gets like this.

"What did I do? Look, I know you don't want me to help but-" She reaches out to stop him, but he whirls around and grabs her wrist, twisting it. The action isn't enough to do any damage but enough to cause her to cry out.

"You're the reason my niece is dead!" He finally says and she swears time stops. "You were the second hacker!"

"Aiden, I-" She tries to defend herself, knowing she had no part in Lena's demise.

"I will not hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes." He twists it a little tighter. "Get out. Of my life." He lets go of her wrist and she recoils instantly, letting him walk into what feels like perpetual darkness.

Lidia isn't sure what to do as she watches him leave. Her entire body feels numb, her mind completely blank. "What?" She mumbles to herself, not entirely grounded. As she backs away from the area, she turns to walk towards her car. There's something about what he said and the way he acted that sits wrong with her. She can tell when he's angry, like at the baseball game, and she didn't see it in those moments. It comes to her all of a sudden, causing her entire face to show shock. 

He didn't believe himself.

There's no way.

As she makes her way back to her car, her mind races. He let her _walk,_ yes with a disturbing threat, but nonetheless she's alive. That alone speaks volumes. If he was serious, he probably would have pulled her into him and shot her with the silencer on. Something clearly didn't click with him… but what? That's her next question. Damien obviously told him something worth following, but it still wasn't everything. How could he just turn on her that quickly? It doesn't make sense. She knows she had nothing to do with Lena's death, but Aiden has no intention of listening to her as of right now. She decides to lay low for a bit until she's sure she can talk to him without getting her head blown off. 

All this is to distract from the fact that she's _devastated. _

She trusted him; no, she still trusts him, even though he just threatened her within an inch of her life. It feels like the world falls back on her shoulders just in that instant. There's now a looming danger at a constant, knowing he could strike any time if he feels like it. The look in his eye and the tone of his voice felt so serious, she has no choice but to carry it like it's real. Her body now kicking into overdrive, she throws herself into her car as she makes sure the windows and doors are locked. Sitting in the driver's seat, she closes her eyes for a minute to think. Home is her only option, even if she doesn't want it to be. She could call Jordi, but does she even want to open that can of worms? Not really, and maybe she just needs to sleep on it before taking action.

* * *

Walking in the back door of her house feels like walking into a completely different dimension. Lidia sighs as Fiona opens the entrance for her. She smiles softly and shakes her head, already walking through the kitchen and towards the stairs. Part of her wants to turn back and make up something about a breakup so she'll leave her alone, but she doesn't want to lie to her anymore. She has to say something eventually, so why not now?

"Fiona?" She says as she turns back to the maid. "I think we need to talk."

She follows Lidia into her room, shutting the door behind her as she sits on the bed. Her mind is racing, wondering about whatever secret this is. Fiona knows Lidia had a crazy past and isn't always the perfect child, but that doesn't make her care any less. It's easy for her to become worried, and if she's been hiding something for a while, that worry is running wild. "If this is about-" She starts, wondering about her coming out.

"No, I know I already told you." Lidia says as she paces around the front of her room. "It's… much bigger than that." Fiona's eyes go wide as she looks her over. 

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale." Fiona asks, and Lidia shakes her head. She wants to get this over with; the truth isn't easy to get out.

"I've had this on my mind for a while, but I just didn't know how to say it." All of a sudden, she turns very serious and looks her in the eye. "You can't tell anyone else about this." Fiona nods vigorously in understanding. 

"Do you remember the school hack a while back? The one that Jack went nuts over because he thought I was in danger?"

Fiona thinks for a second before answering. "Sort of, they never caught the perpetrator. Why? What does this have to do with you?" Lidia looks down and then around anxiously. It's now or never. She's already gotten this far, might as well just finish the thought.

"I'm… Vital." 

Fiona sits for a minute taking in the news. The fear isn't how she'll take it; it's if she dares to pass it on to anyone. Hopefully she got the message that this can't be shared. 

"So you're… a hacker?" She asks tentatively, still unsure of the situation. 

Lidia nods slowly, hoping this won't come as too much of a shock. Telling Fiona was something she always wanted to do because she had basically raised her. If there was anyone she wanted to trust with the information, it was her. 

Fiona processes everything and looks up at Lidia. "Well, how is it?"

She raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"How's… I don't know, coding?"

Both the girls laugh and Lidia smiles. "Good, actually. I mean, kinda. As of now, my right hand man somewhat disowned me." She says, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. She doesn't want to bring her into any of this, but just having someone else knowing makes the situation better.

"I take it that's what you've been doing on the late nights. I was right about no night school."

Lidia chuckles, a calmed sound. "Correct. It's a good cover, huh?"

"I thought you might have been dating someone. That would explain why you don't come home some nights." Fiona addresses and Lidia rolls her eyes.

"Probably not the only one who thinks that."

"Is that it? Was that your big secret?" She asks as she stands from the bed. 

"You're not surprised?"

"Oh no, I am. I just don't this it's as big of a deal. We all know you're good with technology and I already knew something shady was up." 

Lidia shrugs her shoulders. "I guess that's it, yeah." Fiona takes her answer as a sign, knowing that the conversation is basically over. A smirk on Lidia's face forms, and she already feels better about the situation.

"We can talk more about this tomorrow morning. Right now, you need sleep." Fiona says as she stands, placing a hand on Lidia's shoulder.

She nods in response, watching as she walks out of the room and shuts the door with a slight wave. Leaving Lidia with her thoughts after all that's happened probably isn't a good idea, but oh well. 

Luckily, the silence is interrupted. Her phone goes off, and she can't help but weirdly hope it's Aiden. 

_"Let's go on record and say that Aiden told me not to talk to you."_ Jordi says as Lidia accepts the call. She finds it hard to believe that Aiden's threat and this phone call aren't correlated. _"Didn't think that was fair, though."_

"I'm sure he did." Lidia responds. "Did he tell you why?" If he did in fact tell him what happened, there's a good chance he's going to be playing middle man between the two of them.

_"Said you guys had a huge fight and aren't even on speaking terms. Jesus kid, what did you do?"_ He replies as she sighs, knowing this can get messy quickly.

"Jordi, you have to believe me. I literally didn't do anything wrong. He just wants to think I did." She tries her hardest to not sound needy, but still make him understand. She figures he has to know something that can help their situation. 

_"Are you sure you didn't, or are you just saying that?"_

"Jordi, I'm literally so damn sure that I could put it as a clause in a deal with a demon." She says, hearing him chuckle over the phone.

_"You gonna explain?"_ He asks. Although he has to be loyal to Aiden, he knows she's telling the truth. She wouldn't have taken the chance of even bringing up the problem if she wasn't sure she could back herself up. 

"To put it simply, he thinks I did something that I 100% didn't do." She replies, flopping down back on her bed. "So he's basically trying to get rid of me." 

_"What does he think you did?"_ He tries again, wanting to understand the situation.

"I'd tell you, but it's a long winded explanation with parts I really don't think he wants you knowing." 

_"So he isn't speaking to you on principle. He doesn't have a real reason. Why does that sound so petty?"_

She can't help but laugh. "That's because it is. He won't even hear me out. I tried to get him to listen but he just won't." She rolls her eyes to herself as she lays back on her bed. "If it helps any, it's about Lena. And the Merlaut." 

_"Ohhh, why did I figure as much?"_ Jordi replies as he thinks over what he knows. _"Wait, weren't you there?"_

"Correct." She says, a condescending tone that makes him sit back in his chair. "See, that's the thing, he just won't-"

_"Hey, uh, sorry sweetheart, I gotta go. It's the man of the hour."_

"Tell him I told him we need to talk."

Jordi laughs, causing Lidia to smile to herself. _"Kid, he's gonna kill me if he knows I tried to call you."_

"He doesn't need to know you initiated this conversation." She jests, spirits brightened a little. 

_"This feels like passing messages in highschool. He-said-she-said bullshit."_

"That's because it is, until he decides to grow a pair and talk this out." 

He laughs again, knowing it's time to go otherwise Aiden will have more reasons to get mad at him. _"See you around, Led."_

* * *

The silence is… eerie. No whirling monitors, pacing or loading of a gun.

If Lidia's honest? She doesn't like it.

She lays back in bed, not having much of a reason to get up yet. Aiden clearly won't need her today, and her dad is home, so she can lay in bed all she wants.

Feeling disconnected from Aiden is almost painful. She'll admit, she's probably way too attached to him for her own good, but he's the only person in a while who's been looking out for her. Fiona may watch over her, but she's essentially paid to do that. Aiden does it with no prerequisite and little meaning. She always wonders why he's so infatuated with her at times, and she figures it's because she reminds him of Lena. An older and more kick-ass Lena. Well, maybe.

Okay, she has no idea.

She doesn't buy his excuse that she's just a greenhorn talent that he's interested in morphing. There has to be some reason he trusts her more than anyone else right now. Hell, he's known Jordi longer than her, and she knows more about Aiden's past then he does. There's a reason for that, she assumes. Under different circumstances, Jordi and Aiden would probably be fighting each other; same goes for Clara (she still corrects herself from thinking of her name as "Badboy" at times). She rolls herself out of bed, still trying to figure out what to do. Lidia tries to calm herself down as she prepares for the questions about "what she learned in class" from her father.

As she comes down the stairs, she's surprised to find Fiona leaning against the counter, no sign of her dad. "Where's Jack?" She asks, noting Fiona's wet and curly blonde hair. She must have just gotten out of the shower.

"A meeting, which means we get the house to ourselves for a while. Damn, you do sleep late with no motivation." She responds, looking up from the grocery list she was making. Lidia nods, seeing an excited glint in Fiona's green eyes. She can already tell what her next question will be. "So, who's your mystery partner in crime?" Judging by the smirk and tone of her voice, she clearly thinks whoever it is has to be her date. 

"He's just my friend." Lidia states, almost annoyed. Fiona gives her a look that says different, and she shakes her head. "I'm serious, no more no less. He doesn't even want anything to do with me right now."

Fiona shrugs, defeated. "Oh well, at least I tried. What about that guy from California?"

"Hawt Sauce? Oh hell no. I don't know him that well, honestly. We don't know each other's real names."

Fiona gasps, clearly having fun taking in all this information. "Is he a hacker too?"

"Yeah, pretty good too. Better than me." Lidia replies, trying to add context.

"Oh c'mon, I'd guess you're great. All those computer electives in high school must have paid off."

"Well that's the thing, we're both good in our own right. Hawt Sauce is more about the information and how the data works, I'm more about how to work the data." 

Fiona nods, like a mother trying to understand a new trend. "Is that why you're gone so often? You're trying to figure out what to do with the stuff you have?"

"Bingo." Lidia affirms. 

"So you said this so-called partner in crime is fighting you. What happened?" Fiona's inquiry makes Lidia think back. What exactly did happen that made Aiden turn on her? She hadn't said anything wrong before the meeting, had she?

"Long story short, he thinks I killed his niece. A bunch of shit happened to him a long time ago, and he's been looking for revenge ever since. Just last night he got whatever evidence pointed to me and thought it was accurate."

There's a tense pause as Fiona takes in the information. It's as if she's absorbing the weight of Lena's death. "Is it-" She's afraid to finish her question. "Is it accurate? Like, at all?"

Lidia shakes her head, and she can practically feel the exhale of breath from Fiona. "Only partially. I was there when the catalyst started, but I'm not a direct cause. I know that, I just have to convince him."

Fiona nods, understanding the situation and trying to come to terms with everything. "So what're you going to do now?" 

"Dunno. Until I hear back from either my right hand or his other partner, I'm kinda stuck here. I can't really go after either of them and they'll detect me if I try to get in from the outside." Lidia using a lack of names is her attempt at keeping their identities a secret, and Fiona can tell she's trying to hide who her friends are.

"Looks like it's just us for a bit." Fiona says as Lidia gives her a sympathetic smile. It isn't that she doesn't like being with her, she just feels completely useless. Hawt Sauce had already figured out the stuff going on with the Zombi virus, and she can't do anything for Aiden right now. There's no school work for her to complete on a time constraint, nothing to cover up to save her ass, nothing. 

"I'm gonna go shower and get ready. Might as well look presentable just in case." Lidia finally decides. Making an effort might make her feel better about this trainwreck.

* * *

There has to be something to do.

What did she do before all of this?

Oh right- nothing.

Lidia spent most of her life trying to convince her dad she was the perfect child or passionately fighting against it. Her friends from high school have long since moved on, and she's focused most of her energy towards DedSec and hacking.

That's something. Checking forums again like she used to.

She stands straight as opposed to her leaning position on the bathroom counter. She already got changed into her normal clothes, but she didn't have the energy to do anything yet. Sighing, she walks out of her bathroom. Her phone is loud and blaring in her room, albiet not her normal ringtone.

"Whaddya want?" She asks as she accepts the call.

_"We got cut short last night."_ Jordi says, which she guesses is his way of appologizing. _"But I actually have something new for you."_

"Okay, I'm listening. If I'm honest, I really didn't know what to do with myself this morning."

_"Got a friend of mine that needs help with something. The job wasn't too hard, but it seems he bit off more than he can chew."_

"Who's this friend? Another member of the fucking club?" The anger in her voice is evident, still upset about the run-in with Lucky Quinn.

_"No, far from it. You'll wanna be quick too, he's kinda in trouble. Like, shootout trouble."_ Jordi is dead set on her going, which is obvious from the start. 

"Send me the address, I'll sort it out." She hangs up, not in the mood for any of his pushback right now. But then again, as she said before, it's not like she has anything better to do. Lidia grabs her backpack, hoping she'll be able to do something from a longer range so she doesn't get caught in the crossfire.

* * *

The car rolls to a stop on the side of the road, and the driver throws it in park. It doesn't take Lidia long to gather her bag and get out of the car-

To see the exact person she's been trying to avoid.

Backing up slowly in hopes that Aiden hasn't seen her, she pulls up Jordi's number on her phone and quickly calls. Did Jordi know Aiden was here? Or did he just know it was one of his associates?

"Jordi? What the hell?! You know what happened, why am I here?" She yells at him through the speaker to gain no response. Nothing comes through the other end as she sighs. "Fuck, are you trying to get me killed?"

_"What the hell is she doing here?"_ The silence is broken by an all-too-familiar voice. Apparently the silence was a sign of Aiden being added to the call.

"Jordi, you have some explaining to do!" Lidia yells again, hoping to summon him into the discussion. 

The man mentioned sighs. "_Jesus Christ, will you two stop cat fighting for thirty seconds? We've got shit to do!"_

Lidia rolls her eyes as she starts walking past the car and further into the parking lot, backpack slung over her shoulder. "What do you want, hitman?" 

He chuckles, realising her use of the nickname is for sarcasm. _"This is it. Help me help him."_

_"Are you serious?! I don't need her."_ Aiden's remark is her worst fear. Unwanted. Unneeded. Unnecessary. She always felt at home working with him, but she's actively trying to bring that feeling down, knowing it'll never be the same. The words sting in the back of Lidia's mind, but she hides it well. 

_"The guys gunning you down say otherwise, Pearce."_ Jordi comments as he hangs up, effectively leaving them to work out their issues.

"Great, so his plan was to get me all the way here just to be your backup." She doesn't mention that she lives on being his eyes in the sky.

_"Just go. I don't need your help."_ Aiden repeats himself, trying to get her to leave him alone.

She looks around for a minute before seeing a small power box, some buildings, and a sniper on the roof. "Oh yeah? Try me." She mumbles as she begins to hop up the power box, onto the smaller building and then the larger one. She then tries to quickly plan her next move, needing to act with haste. She creeps up behind the sniper and grabs the knife from its side pouch on his hip, stabbing and pulling him back before looking down at the sniper rifle. 

_"Was that you?"_ Aiden asks as she looks down the scope, lifting the weapon to mount it on her arm.

"Told you. I can help." 

_"Not after what you did."_

"Oh for God's sake Aiden, it wasn't me!"

Lidia looks at Aiden through the scope, then pans the gun up to where Angelo is hiding. She sighs and rolls her shoulder a little to position it better. "Aiden, heads up, 2 o'clock." She says before watching to make sure he follows her instructions. 

Reluctantly, he takes her advice and shoots into the car she mentioned, taking out a couple of accomplices. As he hears Angelo barking orders, he looks to where is he focusing. Sure enough, he can spot the girl lining up a shot. _"Lidia?! What are you doing?!"_

"What I promised." She says as she pulls the trigger. 

The gunshot rings out like an alarm in the early morning. Angelo crumples to the floor in a heap, blood flowing from his chest onto the concrete. _“Nice shot.”_ Aiden compliments, tone showing sarcasm, but he truly is thankful she made it. 

Lidia smiles to herself before replying. "Thanks, but you should probably focus on making your own." 

He rolls his eyes. She's still the same Lidia, he thinks as he looks across to an empty car in a parking lot. 

From where he's standing, it looks like hers, and he adds Jordi to their phone call. _"We're wrapping up here."_

_"Oh, and was she useful?"_

Aiden sighs, hearing Lidia laugh before replying. _"Yes, asshole. We can discuss more after. Right now I'm more focused on getting us both out of here."_

Jordi shakes his head to himself, merely because all he wanted was to get them back on their feet. He didn't think it was going to be this hard, but he's glad it all came around. _"Sounds good. Talk later."_

Jordi signs off as Aiden looks across to the car again._ "Led! Think we can take your car?"_

She chuckles as she hops down onto the small building. "Was kinda hoping you'd say that. Meet me there and we can bounce." She says before shutting her phone off and sliding to partially hide behind a barrier. It wasn't going to do much, considering it was barely a lip on the top of the building, but hopefully it would help. She secures the knife she stole off the gunman in a pouch on her backpack, figuring she may need a backup plan every now and again. As she starts to survey the area, she feels a sharp burning in her left thigh before raising the rifle again. Lidia quickly steadies it a little to the side of a few protectors before firing, picking about two out of the three off. There's a warm sensation in her leg, which she chalks up to losing feeling due to her position. She rolls onto the smaller power box, slightly losing her balance and trying to Spider-Man land on the ground. As she does this, she looks down at her thigh, noticing the bullet hole and the blood. "Ohhhhhhh shit." The pain hits her like a tidal wave, fear amplifying the sensation. She cries out, practically collapsing onto the concrete. "Fuck," she's trying with everything in her body to not cry and stand up. "I can't die here." She whimpers as she notices the blood seeping through her pants. It takes all of her strength to stand, scrambling across the floor as she does. Luckily, Aiden is too caught up with the other enemies to notice her struggle. The longer she can prolong this, the better.

She kneels down to one of the fallen men and pulls his bandana off his belt, tying it around her leg to stem some of the bleeding. Hopefully it will look more like a fashion statement and blend into her pants for the most part. While standing back up, she spots Aiden making a run for it to the car. She tries to catch up to him, wincing as the pain throbs. Her running is more like bad limping, trying to drag her dead leg with her. The feeling is still there, and if she concentrates enough she's sure she could feel the bullet.

"Hey Aiden?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Slight problem." 

"What?" 

Lidia unlocks the car and throws herself into shotgun before her head lulls back and forth. She whines, pulling her pistol up to aim at a guy coming at Aiden from behind. "6 o'clock." She chokes out before firing. The bullet lands, killing him instantly, Aiden whirling around to fight the remaining man. She groans as he rushes in and starts the car. 

"Led?" Aiden asks as he speeds out of the parking lot. 

She coughs, trying to keep the metallic taste of blood from causing a panicked reaction. "Just drive-" A coughing fit again. "I've got this." She pushes down hard on the wound, provoking a wince.

He maneuvers out of the parking lot, Lidia trying to calm her heavy breathing as she keeps applying pressure. 

He looks over as they roll into an empty parking lot of a small convenience store. "Oh my god." He says as he can see the makeshift tourniquet, blood still spreading. Aiden's mind races, trying to figure out what to say. 

What are you supposed to say when someone you fought with is bleeding out in your shotgun seat, and you never got to tell them the truth about what they mean to you?

It was always a constant push and pull with them, and he had barely started to actually show genuinely care for her. In reality, she's his best friend- his crutch, his partner in crime. He'd walk to the edges of the earth for her, and he knows she would do the same.

This can't be it. He won't admit it, even if it is.

"It's okay, you're gonna be okay." He finally lands on words of comfort, still trying to find his mind again.

"When have I ever been okay? Now's not the time to lie to me." She jests as she cracks an eye open to look at him. She can't help but be surprised at how he stares back at her. Were his eyes always that green? Were they always that bright?

Wait, is he crying?

"Stop it, stop." He forces out to her. "Save your energy."

"Speaking of," she tries to force herself to sit upright, but he pushes her back into the chair one-handedly. "Hey." She says, an annoyance in her tone. She tries again and he forces her back harder.

"Don't. Just stop. I've got it." He orders at her as she gives up and leans back into the chair, hands quickly pressing down on the tourniquet again. "I'm bringing us back to the motel. As much as I wanna take you to a hospital, it'll be a dead giveaway to your dad." The red stains on her hand are paid no mind to as Aiden takes her left hand in his right. She winces as she grasps his hand, and he can tell she's slipping out of consciousness from a single glance. He presses his other hand hard to her neck, feeling her heart beat. It feels like it's practically beating out of her chest, and from his brief medical knowledge, that's not a good thing. Her breathing is somewhat shallow, and her hands are shaky, starting to feel the anxiety. She presses her free hand down hard on her wound, trying everything to stem the bleeding. 

As she slowly falls into a void daze, she hears a phone ringing. "Jordi? Yeah, you're gonna have to give me a minute. Meet us at the motel." The ringing in her ears overtakes her, pulling her into a deep sleep.


	9. chapter 5- the angel from my nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Like indecision to call you, and hear your voice of treason. Will you come home and stop this pain tonight?_
> 
> (i miss you, blink-182)
> 
> it takes something so extreme to prove a point that's so little. or at least, that's what lidia thinks.

The knock at the door pulls Aiden from his panicked freeze. After carrying Lidia into the motel room from the car, he's spent the last 20 minutes sitting with his chair turned towards her, waiting for any movement and hoping no one from the building noticed and called the cops. The door opens soon after the knock, and Jordi steps into the room. He told Aiden he was there ahead of time, otherwise he probably would have shot him. He locks the door behind him, ensuring that they don't draw any more unwanted attention.

Without even giving him a second glance, Jordi walks right over to Lidia's place on the couch. "Oh, you've done it now, Pearce." The man mentioned stays completely quiet, barely even looking up from under his hat. "Surveyed the damage yet?"

"Dangerously close to her artery, so she lost a good amount of blood. She's been out for an hour or so." His voice is shaky, almost hurt. It's like he's been screaming for hours and is now trying to talk normally. "It didn't bleed through into the seat, so there's probably not an exit wound." 

"You're gonna have to remove the bullet then, it could do more damage." Jordi's voice sounds completely detached, as if he could care less about her.

The tone catches Aiden off guard, causing him to get defensive. "You forget, you were the one who sent her in there in the first place. I didn't ask for your help. Or hers." 

He stays quiet for a moment, rolling his eyes. "There's the problem. Right there. You're so quick to place blame. Isn't that the reason she's in this mess in the first place? You blamed her for something she didn't do?"

"We don't know she wasn't responsible."

"Pearce, are you more worried about her life or what she might have done?" There's a point to his words, like the tip of a knife hitting him in the chest. It makes him walk closer to her, like he's trying to protect her from something. Or someone. "Anyways," Jordi continues, knowing he needs to move on. "Make sure she drinks this. All of it, just not at once." He hands him a water bottle with a light reddish liquid in it.

"What's in it?" Aiden's partially asking for his own state of mind, but also for hers. She'll be curious when she wakes up, he knows it. 

"I really don't think you wanna know. Seriously." Jordi tries to brush it off casually, but he can tell Aiden won't drop the question that easily. "She has to drink all of it before she either a. falls asleep, b. passes out, or c. you knock her out."

"Well, what's in-"

"Don't worry about it. Just know you're gonna have to keep an eye on her when she wakes up after that. She's going to throw up at least once or twice, just let her get it out of her system." He steps back, knowing Aiden is getting dangerously annoyed. "Also, keep her hydrated besides this, and don't let her get any blood get drawn for a month or so after. She could, uh… get in trouble."

Aiden has half the mind to dispute, convince him this is a terrible idea and that he won't give her whatever is in the bottle. Deep down, he knows it's going to help her. At the least, it'll dull the pain when she wakes up. He nods half-heartedly, not liking the situation but not having much of a choice.

"If you need me, you know where to find me."

"No, I really don't."

"Exactly."

* * *

At this point, Aiden can't tell if it's his fear of losing her that's driving him or the fear of being caught. As much as he may feel like he's going to pass out, sleep (or any sort of relaxation) can't come to him.

Sometimes he forgets Lidia's still a teenager, and not in a creepy way, as Jordi was once incredibly confused. Sure, she might be an adult, but she's still only 18. She was a senior in high school months ago, and was worrying about her prom dress not even a year ago. It's only when she's calling him late at night, or whining about her dad, does he remember that her childhood was basically stolen from her. Since she was eight she's been struck with such a traumatic loneliness, and ten years later he sees it still stick with her. When she got shot, he saw the side of her that's terrified of losing people for a split second. She did everything in her power to convince him she was fine, repressing all anger and pain. He tentatively rests his hand against the back of hers, scared of the touch for a moment. He can feel the guilt coursing through him, knowing if he hadn't gotten angry with her for no proof, she'd be okay. 

Her fingers jolt for a second before she turns her wrist to grab at his hand, successfully locking their fingers together. Her eyes flutter open, a silent question in her mind as to how she got there. For a moment, a soft expression falls on her face when she realizes he hasn't left her side. After that, though, a stern emotion crosses her, causing her to look down at her injury. Is he going to stay quiet this whole time? It's fine by her, really; she's quite fed up with the fact that he won't listen to her. Despite this, the silence feels so deafening, eventually he speaks up. "Are you okay?" 

She swallows hard. "Other than the hunk of metal in my leg, I'm fine." He can tell she's lying just from the dull look in her eyes.

He sighs, knowing she'll get through it even if pained. "Don't do that ever again. No matter what. You could have died." 

"You refused to listen to me. I had to make a point." Although her voice is quiet, her words echo in his mind.

He rolls his eyes. "By throwing yourself in danger?"

"Apparently!" The anger is evident in her voice. "I had to do something drastic for you to even give me the time of day."

He sighs, leaving her side, fingers brushing apart. He knew she was going to be upset with him, but not as soon as she woke up. "Drink this." She manages to sit herself up on the couch as he places the bottle near her side. "Don't ask what's in it, Jordi won't tell me."

The words she wants to say dissipate into only thoughts as the cutting pain in her leg takes a forefront. "If Jordi mixed me a drink, God help us all." She forces out, trying to keep her sarcastic demeanor despite her circumstances. She grabs the bottle and takes a drink of it, choking it down. "Jesus shit, that's disgusting."

"Never said it tasted the greatest."

She rolls her eyes in annoyance at his deadpan comment, taking another swig or so just to spite him. He sits down at the edge of the couch. "You really didn't need to do that, Lidia." Aiden says as her eyes flicker from his to her lap. "There was no need for that." He tries to remain calm, knowing they both screwed up. 

"You probably still believe what Damien said." She says, shifting slightly in a discomfort that's more than physical at this point.

"Yes, yes I do." He replies, instantly regretting it. 

"Are you seriously just gonna take his word for it with no information?" 

"Yes, because at this point, I used to trust him." 

"So you never trusted me." 

"I never said that!" 

"Not only did you imply it, you made it seem like today didn't matter. I killed a man for you." 

"You act like he's the only person you've ever hurt." That was a low blow. He can see it in the hurt glare that seems to come from her entire body. "Okay then fine, what do you have to say for yourself?" 

"I wasn't the second-"

"Then who were you?!" His voice is getting louder by the moment.

"I was the third!" Lidia chokes out, trying to keep herself together. "I told you, I ran a systems check on the hotel. I do it every time. I was a _third._ But I'm not who you're looking for."

He shakes his head and looks away from her. Having her this close yet so far away at the same time is doing a number on his head. "Aiden, if this is goodbye, that's fucking fine. Have it your way." He turns back to her, not believing she's truly leaving this. He can tell from her body language- she's dead serious. "But I can't peacefully live my life with you thinking I'm responsible for all this. I had nothing to do with Damien, or your job, or your niece." Her eyes scan his face, and she can sense a little bit of guilt still masked by anger. "And I still love you. You're still the man that trained me, came to my graduation when my father didn't, set me up with Clara and DedSec and helped me get to where I am now. But you know what, fine. If you don't need me, I don't need you either. It's obvious you don't trust me."

He freezes, something inside him breaking. Was it his heart? His resolve? His emotional wall?

Probably the last one.

"No." He manages to force out. "I do trust you. I just… I can't have suspicions. I need to know that you're telling the truth. And right now, with us not having anything else to go off of besides what he said, I can't make this make sense."

"How about we make another deal. If somehow it comes out that I was responsible, you can kill me." 

"What-! No-"

"Aiden, what do you want from me? I give you agreement clauses and you fight me, I try to talk to you and you fight me, I can't win here." She breaks into a coughing fit, unable to control her throat. "Christ, what was in that drink?" 

"You don't need to win. We need to work together." He replies, a somber tone. He's trying so hard to keep himself together, but he can't stop replaying the way she grabbed his hand like her life depended on it. 

Maybe it did.

"Look at me." He utters in a prickly manner that makes her want to hug him. Her eyes flit to his, only in small moments as if she can't look at him for too long. Eventually, she stares back at him, and the connection makes him feel like he's completely helpless. "Let me see your leg." He scoots closer to her as she swings her legs into his lap. The hole in her already ripped black skinny jeans is slightly larger than the hole into her leg. Red dried blood makes it harder for him to see the wound, but he can tell the bullet made a cone shape in her thigh. "You don't need to win this." He repeats as he brushes over the hole slightly with his fingers. "We need to win this." 

His touch is somewhat soothing, soft but with calloused and hardened hands of a broken man. The wound is already starting to heal, dried blood attempting at a scab. The splitting pain threatens a wince from her throat, but Aiden's touch is there again. She can tell from the way he feels around the wound that he's trying to figure out where the bullet is. She'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt, biting down on her tongue on instinct. Admittedly, her jaw has more power than she thinks, causing her to taste copper as she removes them from her muscle. "I can probably get it out." He mutters about the bullet, knowing it's not what she wants to hear but what she needs.

"Can I, I don't know, change first?" Lidia replies, quiet sarcasm in her tone.

He chuckles, glad to see she's generally doing better. "Yeah, okay. I'm not helping you. Good luck on your own." He jokes before softly shoving her legs off of him.

"Yeah, I wasn't counting on it." She says as she stands, Aiden following to make sure she doesn't collapse. Her muscles function fine on their own, not the best but enough to stand her up. She leans into him as she quickly defaults to a limp. He slings her backpack over his shoulder before leading her to the back bathroom. She pushes herself off of him, using her momentum to throw herself into the room. It works, and he leaves her bag on the floor on the inside of the bathroom. 

She starts to shut the door before he glances back at her sympathetically. "Have fun with that." She rolls her eyes as he continues. "We can figure everything else out once you're patched up and safe. Right now, your survival is priority." 

"Thought you said you wanted a bullet between my eyes." Her mumbled reply is probably harsher than she should have been, but she's right- he did threaten her.

"Yeah, I did, but I think I'll let you live one more day." His smirk is half-hearted and caring, knowing she won't take that seriously.

"Wow, what an honor." She quips, a smile of love and adoration somehow adorning her features before she shuts and locks the door.

* * *

When Lidia comes out of the bathroom, her normal attire is replaced with an oversized black shirt and gym shorts, clearly clothes she had stored in her bag for a random emergency- like this one. It's off-putting for Aiden to see her in something other than a hoodie, just like when she did the interview. There's a gauze bandage wrapped around her thigh, clearly weakly applied with a cotton wad to ensure she doesn't lose any more blood. For whatever reason, it only begins to hit him that she's really hurt. Her entire stance is changed, hiding a pained expression while leaning against the wall casually, as if it isn't the only thing holding her up. He can see her eyes to the brim with tears, glassy with a trembling lip. She's trying so hard to hide any pain, but he can tell it's getting to her. 

"Hi." Her greeting is quiet and small, clearly upset.

"You okay?" He asks, already knowing knowing the answer.

"It hurts." She forces out, clearly struggling with words as she slumps to the floor. 

He leans against the corner of the desk closest to her. "I know, I know." There's a quiet moment as she closes her eyes, trying to disperse the tears so they don't fall. Aiden throws the closed bottle of Jordi's concoction at her and she catches it poorly in her lap. "He told me to tell you to drink all of it before you pass out again."

"Yeah, yeah. He won't even tell us what's in it." She remarks, and he shakes his head. "Oh well. Hopefully this won't try to kill me again." Lidia states before drinking more of it, biting her tongue again when she's done. "That's so shit, oh my god." 

"What's the saying? Beauty is pain? Don't know, don't really care." Aiden says before glancing away from her. He's trying not to get upset about how hurt she is, but he shakes his head before looking back to her. "Hey. Tell me about the Merlaut again. Everything, from the top." She looks up at him, wondering why he's so insistent on this. "It'll get you distracted and I need to hear it again anyways."

"I was there because Jack had a business meeting." She explains, holding herself together enough to talk.

"You were sixteen, right? Why couldn't you stay home?"

"Corporate thing. He wanted to show me off. Apparently some of the attendees were asking about me." She rolls her eyes, clearly getting annoyed. 

He really can't tell if it's because of him or the memories. "That's odd, but alright. Continue."

"Is this some interrogation now?"

"Just keep going."

Lidia sighs, pausing for a moment to keep the pain from overtaking her. "I was in our hotel room when I hacked into the servers."

"What were you in there for anyways? Same reason as us?" He asks, trying to get her to truly explain.

"I started doing it when I was trying to get better at hacking, it was like a trial run. If we had to go somewhere for a longer period of time, I'd check the security. That's when I-" Her entire body freezes up, and if Aiden didn't know any better, he'd think she passed out. "Wait. There was one thing." She winces, pressing down on her leg again. "Now that I think about it, there was four. Me, you, Damien and someone else."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Aiden questions, now worried about more dangerous circumstances.

"I thought it was the security system that tried to kick me out, so I didn't worry about it. Now I know that's not the case. Do you think that was…?" She looks up at him, pain and fear evident on her features. He nods slowly, trying not to alarm her. "That means they must have seen me too. Why did they only attack you and Damien then?" She asks before drinking again as a distraction.

"Guessing you were in and out too fast for them to catch on. You got lucky." There's a hint of condescendence in his voice and she can't seem to face him anymore. Lidia looks down, lips moving to form words yet unable to speak. 

"I'm sorry," she finally forces out, "I should have paid more attention."

"What?" He asks, watching her shift uncomfortably in her spot on the floor before drinking again.

"You said it yourself. This is my fault. If I would have scanned the server when I planned on it, I might have been able to warn you or stop them… or something. I just would've had the chance to do something." Her hands are shaky, eyes darting around like she's waiting for something or someone to hurt her. Lidia drinks again, not even caring about the taste anymore.

"No, Led, you couldn't have done anything. When I blamed you before-" He stops, trying to gather his thoughts. "Damien told me there was a second hacker. I just knew you were there and in the server, it made the most sense at the time."

Her mind is hazy, trying to fight through the worry and whatever high is trying to overtake her from the drink. It was a subtle buzz before, but now it's really starting to hit. "So you're not mad anymore?" She really can't think of anything more detailed than that.

He sympathetically smiles to her. "No. I'm not. For right now, you're in the clear." It isn't hard to tell that whatever Jordi put in her drink is slowly starting to take effect.

Lidia lets out a slight drunk giggle, swaying a little as she looks to Aiden. "Oh my God, Jay would have hated you. Fur (for) no particular reason."

"Good thing he's not here then." Aiden responds, trying not to laugh at her developing and stupid accent. He's seen her punch drunk before, but this is completely different. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." She answers in complete stupored confidence. "That's dumb, I always get that question wrong."

"Oh boy." He mutters to himself; he was only holding one finger up. "Did Jay used to do that to you?" For the record, he has no idea who Jay even is.

"No, sometimes Fiona would. Or his friends. Or my friends. Have I talked to Fiona in a while?" Her thoughts and words are erratic and confused, like she's trying to find the correct puzzle piece to fit in an open spot.

He bites his tongue, trying not to be sarcastic. "Do you know what they were testing you for?" He obviously knows but he wants her to see if she can pinpoint it through the mind numb.

"They want to see if I'm- ohhhhh." She trails off in realisation. "I'm drunk. Wait, am I?" If she's as loopy as he thinks she is, this will be a long night. "Oh well. Least I don't have to find a ride home. Those were fun nights. Except I usually wou-just stay with Jay. Or Taylor." Her slurred words and repeating thoughts are just proof that she's slowly becoming way too disoriented for her own good. "Jay was usually way too keen on me staying the night. I don't even have to finish that sentence for you to get it."

He does chuckle this time, knowing exactly what she's talking about. Slowly, Aiden is realising that Jay is her ex-boyfriend that she dated during her partying phase.

"He never hit me, and never tried to hurt me. I guess I just look back and realize that if I would have stuck around long enough, he probably would have with the way we were around each other." She shrugs her shoulders, and he can tell she's reflecting on times long gone. "I would have probably ended up a drug-addled fucking machine if I stuck around until now. And I'm not saying that everyone who went to his parties was a sex addict with a nicotine problem, but that probably would have been my case with the way my life was going."

"You two fought like cats and dogs?" Aiden questions, "Why did you stay if it was that bad?" 

"It was fun and stupid, and I was young." Lidia explains, the nerves seemingly disappearing. "I remember how wild his parties used to be. I still love a good party, but his were insane. I used to go to soundcheck with him at like eight, and it started like nine. We'd hang out and do other things until then. but it was crazy. Fog machines, rave lights, skimpy outfits; you know, your stereotypical rave, but probably better. I remember this one time I was with Taylor and a couple of our friends. We all got super drunk, and it was like 1 in the morning by the time the party ended. None of us were gonna drive home, so Taylor and my other friends got a taxi; and Jay being Jay, convinced me to stay."

"At least you were somewhat responsible." While he can't relate, he can somewhat admire her resolve.

She laughs, shaking her head. "In doing that, we crashed on the back room futon and when I woke up it was like, 3:30-4. I remember him waking up 'cause I moved, and both of us trying to grab all our shit and leave. My dad would have killed me if I came home that late, even though he really didn't care. I have good memories like that from us. It was fun. We were fun." 

"And Taylor? She didn't care?" 

"Oh no, she did. She was just a friend back then. I didn't realize I was in love with her until after I broke it off with Jay. She never got jealous of us, though. She loved me way before I loved her. She was an angel in disguise. I really did love her." Her tone is quiet and thoughtful, like she's picking words out of a book. "Now him, I literally don't know. I think I convinced myself that I loved him, but I don't know if I ever did. I miss them both sometimes, ignore me, I'm rambling; I don't even know what I'm saying." 

"Did she know about the whole Vital thing?" In looking at her, he can tell her emotions are all over the place. He can't help but note that's a side effect of different illegal drugs, and his mind wanders back to the drink Jordi gave her. What could be in it?

"We were dating when the Merlaut happened. So yeah. I think that whole part of my life scared her away." She gets confused all of a sudden. "Goddammit, what was his name? The kid that the prick wanted me to marry."

"Your dad set you up with someone?"

"Kinda- Harper! That's his name. Harper Novak." She laughs with a roll of her eyes. "It was an arranged marriage of sorts. My dad introduced us when we were both 13, He planned on having us announce an engagement at 18, which would give us five years to get to know each other. We worked together to get it called off with our bad behavior." 

"Good job." He jokingly compliments, noticing her diminishing strength. Her ranting is now more explanation and less of adding stories. "Can you stand?"

"We're about to find out." Aiden doesn't even make a move to help Lidia stand up, knowing that if she falls it's on her own terms. She successful straightens herself out, leaning against the wall and scowling at him as she starts to limp her way towards the couch.

"You realise I'm gonna have to take the bullet out, right?" He says, watching her control her fall into the couch.

"Preferably wait until I pass out." She responds before she finishes off the drink. "Thank God that's over." She comments on the taste. Her body feels frozen for a moment or so, the idea on her lips betraying her. She forces out three words in her horribly heightened state- "I love you."

He closes his eyes, trying not to think about how this is going to end. He knows he can't get attached to her, but he also knows he already is. There's nothing he can do now- he knows he cares about her. "I love you too."

She scoffs, rolling over to look at him. "You're just saying that." Mood swings; clearly a sign of the worsening drugs in her system.

"Ask me in the morning, maybe I'll tell you the truth. Right now you need to sleep."

"Do I really?"

He shoots her a glare, clearly playful and half hearted. There's contentment in their silence, as if the words unsaid don't need to be said. The pained look in her eyes is breaking his heart, and he can only hope the rest of the concoction will kick in and she'll pass out soon.  
Maybe that comfort will calm them both down.

* * *

"Ow." Lidia says, feeling the uncomfortable burn in her leg first-thing when she wakes up. The syllable turns into mumbled groaning as she sits herself up. A blanket-type sheet lays across her body, and she pulls it off to reveal her leg. Stitches adorn the wound, tightly applied to keep blood in and infection out. The skin feels sore, making her pull the sheet back over it to stop looking as if that will numb the pain. But of course, being as impatient as she is, she pulls her laptop onto her other leg, balancing and opening it to check in anything she may need.

"Good morning." Aiden chides, not looking back at her from his seat in front of the other monitors. "How's the hole?"

"Closed, and not as painful- ah!" As soon as she's about to comment on the fact that she's feeling better, an overwhelming hurt fills her brain. "Holy shit." The mixture of her talking and the computer screen somehow triggers some sort of hangover migraine.

"Oh yeah, there's that." He says, completely casually. "Guess there was alcohol laced in that. You were a mess last night." 

"Well, it's not like you haven't seen me at my worst."

"I actually haven't, no." He's seen Lidia in her worst moments, but he honestly doesn't think he's witnessed her at her lowest point.

"Stop being a dick, I'm in pain."

"This probably isn't the best time, but there's a survivor from the stadium." He blurts out, meaning it but also shutting her up.

And boy, does it shut her up. She silences, blanking out and staring at her laptop. Did he really just say that? "A what?" She responds, fear and anger mixing to where she can't make out where one ends and one begins. "You didn't think to mention this to me?"

"Not last night when you were bleeding out, no. Quite frankly, with the position we were in, I was more than willing to throw you under the bus." Aiden admits, seeing her expression change. Watching her try to fight off the pain in favor of calling him out is borderline amusing. "Jordi and I are gonna take care of him, relax. Kept making some comment about a pizza guy, but we found the fixer boss. A prison transfer from the guy you killed. He was trying to move the witness."

"And?"

He quickly grabs his phone out of his pocket. "Thanks for reminding me. I put everything on hold when I had to handle your shit. We have to move quickly, we've lost time." 

"Moving of any sort probably isn't in my future, is it?" She complains, giving up on running system checks for the more pressing matter.

"Probably not, no." He replies as he dials Jordi's number, waiting for the hired man to pick up. "Do you still have contacts inside the prison?"

_"I already asked if they could make our guy slip in the shower. They're dirty, but they're not that dirty."_ He quips as he answers.

"I'm going to get arrested." Aiden addresses, clearly noting an already formed plan. 

"Oh no you're not, not if I have anything to say about it." Lidia cautions, loud enough to make it through the phone.

_"Oh good, she's awake. But more importantly, why the hell would you do that?"_

"This witness we're after- he's a nobody. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Aiden says as he gives Lidia a frown. She death-stares him back, causing him to roll his eyes as he puts Jordi on speaker. "He wasn't looking for me. I don't want to kill him. I just want him to understand I can reach him anywhere, any time." 

_"That is a terrible plan."_ Jordi concludes, now loud enough for the whole room to hear.

"Yeah, really. Once you get in there we can't back you up." Lidia retorts, almost ready to snap at him. Instead she is diminished to wincing via her wound throbbing again, talking too much taking an effect.

_"You didn't let me finish, Led. I love it. I'll find a map of the joint." _

"Go fuck yourself, Jordi. I have a headache thanks to you. But seriously, you guys can't see how- hmm!" Her words are cut off by a cry out as Aiden places a hand on her wound and presses down, trying to stem the pain. "Thanks." She mumbles, closing her eyes.

_"Don't worry, I'll walk him through once he's inside. Anything you need, Aiden?"_

"My phone." He says, looking back at Lidia as she shakes her head and mutters about how much of a bad idea this is.

_"Jesus, you have a problem. You need to unplug."_ Jordi jokes.

Aiden is clearly annoyed with the comment. "Jordi, I need my phone. They'll confiscate it the second I get in." 

_"Yeah, I know. I'm fucking with you." _

"As if it wasn't obvious." Aiden mumbles to the only-half-paying-attention Lidia. It looks as if she's barely able to keep herself awake, eyes lidden and laced with distress.

_"I got just the guy. He's been begging to settle his debt. You'll get your phone."_ He hangs up, leaving Lidia and Aiden alone to deal with the mess.

"Still can't believe you didn't tell me." She says, Aiden's hand readjusting on her leg and causing her to cry out again. "Goddammit, warn me next time." 

"Hey, if it works it works." She can't tell whether his comment is referring to keeping her quiet or dulling the pain.

"Speaking of phone calls, I probably should talk to Fiona." She complains, nerves weaving their way into her words. "She's probably worried. Or even if she isn't, I need to give her a cover story for Jack."

"How do you plan on explaining the fact that you can't walk on your left leg?"

"Uh… the truth? She knows already, it's just a matter of fooling my dad. We'll put our heads together and think of something."

"When did you tell her about… all this?" Aiden insists, worried about what her knowledge could do to them.

"Well, I didn't. Not really. I told her I was Vital the night you left me stranded. She doesn't know I'm working with you though- hand me my phone, yeah?" 

He gives her the device, and she groans a thanks before unlocking it and hissing as the light hits her eyes. She knows it's been a while since she's had a hangover migraine this bad, but even then, this one is really bad. There's something in the back of her mind that points to this being more than just a normal morning after. What did Jordi lace in that drink?

Doesn't matter now. All that matters is the verbal ass kicking she's about to get from her maid.

_"Where the hell have you been? You haven't talked to me in hours!"_ Fiona's upset voice comes through the speaker as Lidia's phone connects to the number.

Aiden can tell from her face of concern and the muffled yelling through the phone that this won't be an easy conversation. "You know I would have called if I could have.” Lidia starts, trying to cover for herself. “I'm sorry, I wish I could have told you ahead of time that I wasn't coming home." She looks up at him, as if to say she knew this was coming. She quickly looks back down though due to the sensitivity from her headache.

_"What's going on? Where are you?"_ Although Fiona isn’t new to Lidia’s late-night antics, this is a little more worrying. Usually she would send her pictures of cool stuff from wherever she was or some outfit she thought she would like, but this was nothing. Not even a text telling her she’s found her friend again.

"Owl Motel, I'm fine." For a split second, she can see Aiden about to say something and sabotage her plan, but she flips him off and effectively shuts him up.

_"That's a little more worrying, but okay I guess. Do you know when you'll be back?" _

"No, honestly I don't. I'm sorry." Her repeated apologies don’t seem to be getting her anywhere, but she attempts anyways.

_"Lidia, I thought by you telling me the truth that all the secrets would go away."_ There’s sadness in Fiona's voice, like she’s sick and tired of all the lies. Lidia is too, but she can’t risk this. Fiona is the closest thing she has to family- she won’t let her bear this cross.

"I wish it could be like that." 

_"Why can't it?"_

"This is dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt." Those words from Lidia hit Aiden. Hard. He's said that exact line before, and seeing it through the eyes of a bystander makes him feel… different. Is this truly what he’s doing? Pushing people away, and for what, some form of protection? He couldn’t even protect his sister from the jerk that kept calling her. He can tell that even Lidia is thinking about that.

_"What about you?"_

"Too bad. A sacrifice I'm willing to make." Okay, those words make his stomach drop for a split second. He doesn’t even know the context, but he knows he doesn’t like it.

_"Can you please tell me what's going on?"_

"Fine, you wanna know?- I got shot." He looks at her as if he's seen a ghost, not expecting her to tell the truth. "In the leg too, so I can't walk all that well. My partner is currently taking care of me." Lidia’s voice is almost angry, as if she’s teetering on the edge of lashing out. 

_"What?! Wait, like your right hand man? Like the one you said disowned you?"_

"It's complicated, honestly. I'll explain more when I get home." She says, and he can’t do this anymore. Too much of this is echoing his own thoughts. He shakes his head and walks away, realising something he’s been looking for- he connects with her so well because he sees himself in her, not Lena.

_"Can I talk to him?"_ Lidia chuckles at the typical Fiona comment. Leave it to her to ask the completely unnecessary questions as a way of finding out more information. In a way, she’s grateful; maybe that skill got passed along.

"Hell no." She finally responds, actually considering it for a moment or two.

_"Did you go to the hospital?"_

"Can't. Tracking, and I guarantee someone in there would know who I am.” That’s one downside of being this close to Blume- being in the spotlight means she has to be careful. Maybe not 24/7, but she still needs to be mindful of making too much noise and drawing attention. If she can live in the shadows for long enough, she can siphon the information she needs without putting blood in the water.

_“You’ve really done it now. How do you plan on getting home? Do you seriously think Jack won’t notice? I’m sure there’s a bandage and blood, it won’t be too hard to see! You know, I was thinking about this last night, honestly. Do you realise how much danger you’re adding to yourself, let alone the stress?! What if you slip up and get caught?! What if your ally screws up?! You both will be done for and you could unravel all the work you both have done! You know I’m fully supportive of you living your own life, but this seems to be getting too big for you to handle.”_ She lets Fiona completely vent her feelings until she reaches a point where she’s comfortable to finish. Even then, she stays quiet to go through everything she just said.

“You done?” Lidia remarks, already knowing the answer. “Look, I know all of that. I’ve thought of everything you just said too. I don’t care. I really don’t, because this?” She can’t help but look to Aiden, who can barely make eye contact with her. He’s now standing by the desk, acting as if he isn’t paying attention to her conversation. “This is my home. I never felt comfortable anywhere until I found all of this that actually gave me a sense of meaning. I was so helpless watching Jack destroy my life and my mom’s legacy, but now?- I can fight back and help more than just myself. I’m a slave to the machine, sure, but it doesn’t matter to me.” 

Aiden cracks his calm and cool facade, coming out of his thoughtful state with the remnants of a smirk crossing his features. Through the dull look in her eyes, he can see something short of regret, but it's mostly compassion that takes over.

_"I can't stop you."_ Fiona breaks her silence after listening to Lidia's speech. As much as she wishes she could convince her to listen, she knows she can't. _"All I can tell you is to watch your back. Be careful, or at least as careful as you can be. Let me know when you're coming home, and what's going on, okay?" _

"That's a promise. I'll see you soon." She hangs up with a goodbye of confirmation from Fiona, closing her eyes as if to contemplate the world around her. "Can't tell which hurts more, that phone call or my fucking head."

"You did good." Aiden replies, placing his hand on her head. She seems to melt into the touch, biting on her tongue to somehow distract from her headache. "You've always done good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is shorter than i planned but i really liked that quote to end on. happy 2020, i can't wait to bring more content in the future because UGH i love writing this <3


	10. chapter 6- acting out all their fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Look out to the future, but it tells you nothing; so take another breath_
> 
> (icarus, bastille)
> 
> together, lidia and aiden are both icarus- they're about to get destroyed because they've gotten too close to the things they love and adore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me? taking out minor details because i'm lazy and i don't want my characters to deal with five different cellphones and unnecessary conversation? more likely than you think

Quiet and subtle moments are a rare thing for them. Even if it's mornings when they wake up with hangovers, Lidia and Aiden usually don't have downtime for long. In a weird way, this injury could be helpful to convince her that this really is a dangerous job. It never really felt life-threatening unless they were running from the cops like at the stadium. But now, everything is different.

Or at least, Aiden thinks so.

He can't help but hope this is going to kickstart her fear response. Lidia has never had the best self-preservation skills, which is a direct result of her surroundings. She lost everything when her mom left. Maybe she thinks this is some sort of redemption. He doesn't know, he can't try to get inside her head. 

"Stay put. I don't think that'll be hard, but still." He says to her, who's barely awake on the couch. She nods in response, and he can see that her migraine isn't going away. "I'd tell you to take aspirin, but I have no idea if it will react with what Jordi gave you last night." 

"Probably will." She weakly replies, "I'm just gonna knock out again. See if I can try and sleep it off."

"I doubt that will work, but hey, why not." 

He places his hand on her forehead, and she smiles as she closes her eyes. "No fever. That's good. I know you don't want to turn your head, but the first aid kit is on the table next to you. Try and change the bandages later, okay?"

"Mhmm." She mumbles in agreement. "Let me know when you find the guy. He saw me too, y'know." 

"Yeah, of course." He looks down at his phone as it vibrates. "Gotta go. It's all squared away." 

"Love you." She forces out, watching as he walks away. Is it weird for her to question saying that?

"Yeah, okay. Love you too." There's hesitance in his voice, like he's not sure if he's willing to admit that he cares. She can tell he's questioning if all this is going to be worth the pain later. He has a feeling it's all gonna crash and burn.

She knows she loves him in a way that's hard to describe. Despite everything, she would do anything for him. It's the difference of hearing about the vigilante on the news versus knowing him personally. She's seen him at some of his worst points- she'll never forget the moments when he wakes up with a panicked look he's desperately trying to mask because of a dream about Lena. 

He's seen her like that too. There's days where it all just feels too much, she can't take it, she needs the space but at the same time she won't leave the motel. Usually the days where she's overwhelmed and still searching for her mom are the worst. Deep down, she knows she's gone for good, yet it doesn't stop her from looking. Looking for someone. Looking for hope. Looking for the answer. 

The answer to what? Why she does this? Why she could care less about herself? Why Rachel left?

Lidia and Aiden have gotten into brutal fights together, and more than once they've said things they regret. They've been beaten, bruised up mentally and physically, scarred for life. So why does she stay? What is it that she can't leave?

Scanning around the hotel room, she finds her conclusion quickly.

This is home. More of a home than her actual house will ever be. _He's_ more of a home than she's ever had. 

With Jay and Taylor, it was fleeting; _especially_ with Jay. He'd find every little thing to criticize, nitpick and yell about. Towards the end of the relationship, all he did was fight her. In his softer moments, he was just that- soft. That was the Jay that she fell in love with. The one who saw the horror in people because he truly couldn't see the horror in himself. 

Taylor was her saving grace. Even though it was short-lived, Taylor's love was different. She cared more about Lidia as a person and who she was. She could've cared less if she was a millionaire or a homeless person on the street, she knew she loved her. Taylor only worried in the way that Fiona worries now- safety. That was what tore them apart in the end. She wasn't judgemental, she just knew she couldn't save her; that killed it. Taylor wanted to be Lidia's savior because she knew she needed it. Problem was, Lidia didn't want to- and couldn't- be saved.

Aiden was different. Aiden _is_ different.

They're horrendously broken; both of them are. They fight because they worry about each other, but they still know they're perfectly capable of working things out on their own. They aren't two halves that need to make a whole, they're two wholes who need each other to activate. They're each other's catalyst. That's how she can love him without being _in love_ with him. She'd follow him to the ends of the Earth. That's why she puts herself in danger, that's why she feels alone without him. _She isn't._ If anything, he makes her stronger when they're apart. He's forced her to think for herself and work towards a goal. It isn't floundering and wondering when the next job is going to come up- it's here, it's right in front of her and she needs to act.

_Act._That's why she can't sit still. 

It's killing her that she can't be out there with him. She feels so useless and hopeless just sitting on the couch of a motel room listening to a server refresh.

She doesn't want to leave because she doesn't think this is a good time, and she probably needs to stay put for a while. Still, she can't just sit here even if she wouldn't be able to go in the prison with him anyways.

She's got nothing for now, but this time it's a nice feeling of nothing.

As she's sitting, thinking about all the time she's gonna spend asleep to try and "catch up" (even though that doesn't work), her phone buzzes and she looks over the message.

**shrek's wife-** Hoping you're up by now. When are you planning on coming home?

**You-** uhhhh i don't know. i'm hoping tonight but that's all banking on my partner letting me go.

**shrek's wife-** I'll come and get you, just let me know.

**You-** sounds good

She feels a little bit better knowing that she has an exit plan with Fiona, and she can feel herself starting to nod off. Knowing she's safe and her things are somewhat in place, she lets herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

Dreamless sleep is nice for Lidia. It's a reminder that not everything needs to be fast paced all the time; a different way of keeping herself in check.

When she wakes, everything is exactly where she left it. She can't help but be a little upset that Aiden isn't back yet, and God knows where he is. No matter- he can handle himself. 

Then again, that doesn't mean she can sit and wait. The longer they prolong this, the worse it's going to get. There's so much to be looking for and researching, as there's always a way to keep moving forward. She pulls her laptop onto her legs and opens it, looking at the files strewn about in somewhat organized folders that only make sense to her. A lot of her important notes or things that would point to her work are hidden in multiple folders put in random places, sometimes with multiple passcodes. She doesn't mess around when it comes to getting caught.

Watching the light and words flash across her screen isn't helping her headache, which didn't exactly dissipate with her nap. She winces as she looks over what she has on Bellwether. As soon as she saw it written on the wall of the apartment she hacked into with Aiden, she knew it wasn't just a coincidence. Blume is planning something big, and she isn't about to let it get past them. All she really has are the note documents she wrote and some Blume statements she stole from her dad. They're mostly to be used as receipts, just in case she has to pull things up to make a point. It’s a preparation for future events, which is something she tried to avoid for an amount of time but then decided was necessary. She has half the mind to PM Hawt Sauce and ask if he has anything for her to work on, but she knows there will definitely be something. It’s not like she’s gotten too good for him or that she doesn’t want to help, but she feels like she has enough on her plate for now. 

Lidia’s hood slips off her head as she leans back slightly, the white garment falling back onto the couch. She brushes her fingers through her hair as she checks on the notes regarding the program. There's a moment as she's scanning the documents that she can't help but worry. Does someone know she has these? Does Aiden know she has information she hasn't shared yet?

It isn't a lot, and probably won't do much for them in the long run. She doesn't exactly like having all of this stored on her hard drive, but she's sure she wants to keep it _somewhere. _ She knows Bellwether is a prediction algorithm that uses numbers and words to influence how people think. Blume having that level of technology and implementing it to the whole state of Chicago, let alone any other systems?- It can only spell trouble.

There's a loud bang below her, causing her to jump. Even though she might be used to noises and gunshots because of her work with Aiden, it doesn't keep her from getting startled by random things like that. Coupled with her nerves from the Bellwether investigation, she can't help but get worried. Leaning down, she grabs her gun and ammo out of her backpack, pushing the cartridge into the instrument. Keeping the safety intact, she rests the weapon on top of her laptop, the barrel pointed towards the door.

Feeling a little safer now, she resumes scanning over her work. The name Raymond Kenney stands out to her- it stood out a while ago, but even now it matters. Did he make the program, or does he just know a lot about it? Working through her writings is causing her to second-guess what she knew. Her past love for Jay makes her hate Ray more than she probably should. Jay always said that he despises him because of the 2003 blackout, but always avoided the question when she asked why. Does Jay know something about Bellwether that she doesn't?

Yeah, he probably does.

She opens her phone with her hand that isn't holding the gun, glancing through her contacts. Her three ICE contacts sit clearly at the top of the list, but she really doesn't need them right now. Lidia scrolls towards the J section, knowing she shouldn't be doing this. Is this really so important that she needs to go back to that asshole?

She hovers over the call button before shaking her head to herself. She can't do this. What's the point? If she's wrong, she'll just be opening a whole can of worms that she doesn't even want to associate with anymore. She closes her phone and tosses it lightly towards the end of the couch. Her adrenaline is rushing, anxiety clouding her judgement. Has Bellwether already pinned her, and do they know what she's doing? She closes her eyes, gripping the gun tighter as she tries to calm herself down. She knows she can't let all of this get to her head, but it's too late.

The door to the room unlocks with a click, causing Lidia to scurry back into the couch. She can't go all that far, considering that she's already pressed pretty close to the arm. The entrance swings open and Aiden steps inside, completely surprised to find Lidia with a gun pointed. "What happened?"

She sighs, pulling the weapon back. "Nothing. I should ask you the same thing. Did you hear a loud bang?"

He seems confused for a second before furrowing his brow. "...No?"

"Dunno, there was a loud noise a bit ago. Scared me so I decided to get ready just in case. Thought you might have heard it when you came in." She replies, surveying the weapon in her hand before placing it back in her bag. 

"Have you tried to walk at all? Take anything?" He asks, noticing the computer on her lap and thinking she might have decided to work with her circumstances, not against.

"No, I fell asleep for a while and woke up like, a half-hour ago." She's a little ashamed to admit she's done nothing of importance. "I did talk to Fiona though, she said she'd come get me so I don't have to walk."

"Good. I wouldn't have let you walk anyways." To her surprise, he doesn't sound disappointed or upset. "I scared the survivor. I don't think he even saw you, but he won't be ID-ing anyone soon." 

She nods, her headache _finally_ starting to go away. This doesn't mean she feels completely fine, but she can at least move her head a little more. "So we're safe for now."

"Don't jinx it." He quips, noticing that she's looking through different files. "Find anything useful?"

She pauses, thinking hard about this. Should she tell him the truth? Would it really matter if she didn't? She finds it weird that this is uncomfortable- there's no reason she should be nervous about sharing information, they do it all the time. "All this is old stuff about Bellwether." She decides to just tell him, knowing that it really shouldn't matter. It would be better if they know what they're up against anyways. "Nothing really important. I don't have enough information."

"Should we still be concerned?" The fact that he's identifying both of them as involved makes her strangely happy.

"Definitely," She responds. "This isn't any normal test they're running. This is big and scary." She turns to him, concern washing over her features. "We can't let this go."

"Noted." He says, watching as she uncomfortably shifts when reading over her notes again. "You okay?"

There's an uncomfortable silence, the quiet causing him to step towards her. She glances up to him once or twice, eyes closing softly. "Fibonacci."

"The number sequence?" 

"Mhmm. Supposedly they added it to the program. They made ads, music, anything and added the numbers to it. It's like subliminal messaging." She explains, closing her laptop as she knows she won't need her notes anymore. "I really didn't think they actually did it, but now?" 

"Damien's wall scribblings. They sealed the deal for you." He concludes, a small smile adorning her features before she grabs her phone from the end of the couch.

"It wasn't hard for me to figure out. I mean, the code sequence isn't even that hard, but the equations on the walls just hit me like a truck."

"Do you think Damien might be under the influence of it?"

She slides her laptop into her bag, thinking for a moment. "Maybe. That makes too much sense." As she's about to drop her phone into her bag, it buzzes in her hand and she looks down quickly. She answers in sheer confusion. "What's up?"

_"You said the Owl Motel, right?"_ Fiona asks, speaking somewhat quietly into the microphone.

"Yeah… why?" 

_"I'm outside in the parking lot."_

"Give me a second." She says as she mutes the microphone. "Fuck, Fiona's outside."

"Did you tell her to come get you?" Aiden questions, wondering if she simply forgot from her nap.

"I asked her to come get me after I talked to you, not now. What's she doing here?" He gives her a curt shrug as if to tell her to figure it out. She unmutes the call, shaking her head. "What're doing here?"

_"I came to get you, what room?"_

At this point she's on speaker with Lidia looking at Aiden wide-eyed. He makes a sweeping motion forward with his hand, signalling for her to bring her up. She points to the door and he nods. "Second floor, second door on the left."

_"Stay on the line. I'll be there in a few minutes."_ Fiona explains as Lidia mutes the mic again. She forces herself to stand up, wincing as she pushes herself to stand on both legs. Her limp is incredibly pronounced, almost all of her weight on her healthy leg. She half-walks-half-falls her way over to the grated decorative wall in front of the door. Glancing back at Aiden, she can almost feel the tension. 

This won't end well for either of them, and this wasn't how she imagined him finally meeting Fiona. She watches him step closer to her, and she smiles to herself. "No matter what she says, thank you. I'd be dead without you."

"I'm sure I would be too." He replies, knowing this could go south. If Fiona turns on either of them, she'll now have information that she could use against them both.

Speaking of, it doesn't take long for her to knock on the motel room door and hang up the call. Lidia pushes off the side of the wall and opens the door, standing with a limp and backpack in hand. "I'm just gonna say it now- this isn't what it looks like."

Aiden won't deny that he's somewhat shocked at Fiona's appearance- but then again, he isn't sure what he expected. Her blonde hair is curled in tight ringlets, green eyes that compliment a nicer looking blouse, jeans, and short boots. "Well, it looks like that's…" She trails off as she notices him. "Oh… wait that's-" It's as if a silent acknowledgment ripples through the room, and Lidia looks back at him as if to ask for help. "What do you want with her?"

"I'm sure she's told you about what we do. How we work." The vagueness of his answer isn't exactly helping.

"She did. Doesn't mean I'm not worried."

"Makes sense." Aiden knows how protective she is of Lidia and that she's obviously headstrong. She doesn't want her to get hurt, but then again, neither does he. It may take some time to convince Fiona that they're on the same side. 

Lidia has to drag herself out the door, leaning against the threshold as Fiona practically stares him down. "I'm impressed she's been able to hide this for so long." 

"Fear can do that to a person." He says, resorting to his hardened personality.

"Well, nonetheless, I'm glad she can help." Fiona is acting like one of those moms who found her friend in a grocery store and won't leave, whereas Lidia is definitely the kid who's begging for them to go. The longer she stands her, the worse she can feel the awkwardness.

"She's been useful. And I'm sure it won't end here." His response is oddly sweet, but clearly meant to make a point that this isn't over.

"Of course," Fiona concludes. "I'm sure this won't be the last time I'm seeing you."

* * *

The car door slams shut as Lidia can taste copper again, biting into the side of her mouth to keep from screaming in pain. "Jesus fucking Christ, I'm not doing that again." 

"I literally couldn't watch that. Are you _sure_ we can't go to the hospital?" Fiona asks as Lidia presses down hard on her leg again, desperately trying to stem the pain. Limping down the motel stairs really wasn't the best move (even with help), but she wasn't going to stay at the motel and be completely helpless. Even if she'll have to come back later to get her car, she doesn't care. 

"Positive. One, they'll want to know how the hell I got shot, two, they ask where the bullet is, and three, I'm on Jack's insurance still. It'll show up and then I'll have bigger fish to fry." She responds, coughing into her palm. A small pool of blood appears on her hand, and she closes her eyes in concern. "I'm really gonna hope that's from my swollen mouth and not more damage."

"You know, I can't believe you." Fiona's concern rapidly turns to anger. It's understandable; all this is happening so quickly. "Do you realize how bad this is? What would Rachel say-?"

"Don't bring her into this!" She cries out. "Don't even! You have no idea what she'd do or say! Leave her the fuck out of this! This is so much bigger than that!"

"That's why you're doing it though, right? For her?!" 

"No!" Lidia's yelled response comes as a shocked response to Fiona. "She's gone. I've accepted that. My mom is gone." There's tears streaming down her face, and she can't even tell if it's from the emotional or physical pain.

"Then why?" She begs. "Why go through all this? Just because it's your safety net? A bullet in the leg doesn't look safe to me."

Lidia takes a deep breath, trying to formulate a way to express this. "Jack."

"What?" 

"It's not just that I feel safe with these people. I can take down Jack. Once and for all." 

"How does- what? That doesn't make sense."

Lidia can barely even feel the pain anymore; not because it's not there, but because she's genuinely focused on this conversation. Fully. "All this will slowly strip power from Blume. The source of all our bullshit. It's perfect."

Fiona turns the key in the car and starts it, backing out of the parking lot. She doesn't even respond to her, unable to fathom how all this came together. Is this really her life now?

"Are you mad at me? For getting shot?" Lidia mutters with a soft tone, the pain starting to consume her again.

"No, I'm not." Fiona responds quietly. "I guess I just can't understand this. And I'm not gonna push you to make me understand." 

Leaning back against the seat, Lidia can't help but feel selfish for not telling her that she was working with Aiden in the first place. She figures she would have found out eventually, but still. She's slowly calming down, tears falling down her face. Fiona can tell it's truly bad- she hates when she's crying.

"When do you think you'll be able to walk on it again?" Fiona questions, clearly just wondering how long they'll have to hide this from Jack.

"Dunno. Hopefully soon, I'm sick of having to lie down and take it even though it hasn't been that long."

There's a silence for a moment that feels more poignant than anything she could say. Until it isn't. "I hope you know I'm proud of you, even if this is completely insane. You've done some good work and I understand why you couldn't tell me. I might not like it, but too bad. That's not my problem." She pauses for a moment, quiet tears still running down Lidia's face. There's a smile exchanged that feels like forgiveness. "You still could have just told me you were working with the vigilante." Fiona insists, still not over the shock of meeting him. "How did you even end up contacting him?"

"Long story." She answers. 

"We've got time."

With that, Lidia spends the rest of the car ride explaining how they met. From the Merlaut to Jordi and the baseball game, she tells the good, bad and ugly stories. They move the conversation inside once arriving at the house, taking comfort in the fact that this world isn't going to destroy her alone any longer.

* * *

The phone call sent shivers straight through her body.

Lidia had planned on doing nothing but recovering for a while. She came home, dropped her stuff and changed back into her normal clothes, as if there was nothing to be worried about. For a couple hours, there was. She just hung around the house trying to get used to walking.

Then Aiden called her. His voice felt shaky and fearful, like he was on the brink of yelling at her yet he didn't. He told her to bring her weapon and go to Nicky's. She didn't need anymore details than that, and he wasn't in the mood to talk.

Her internal alarm is screaming as she walks across the main street to the gated community Nicky lives in, stopping as she gets to the sidewalk. Lidia quickly pulls out the profiler and hacks into the cameras, turning them away from the gate. The whole fence is spiked and high to seem more noble, but this only means she can go in a certain way. She then hacks the gate, turning it on and stepping back as the wheels turn and the metal is pulled in opposite directions. She steps inside before closing the gate behind her, running down the sidewalk quickly. She's fighting her limp, working through pain and fear. Aiden sent her coordinates to Nicky's house, so Lidia is able to find it easily. 

She rushes inside, as the door is already unlocked from the previous intruder. She walks down the front room, noting the opened bedroom and bathroom doors on the sides of the hallway. There's no one in there. As she finds the kitchen, she meets eyes with someone she wishes she never had to see again. "Who might you be?" Damien asks, less as a question and more as a demand. His white undershirt is paired with a grey long sleeve button up and black glittery vest. A blue suit jacket is on top of it all, with black dress pants and brown dress shoes to match. A grey beanie finishes the outfit, green eyes staring back at her with a goatee at the chin. Something that catches her attention is the leg brace that adorns his left leg. It connects- she remembers that Aiden mentioned his crippled leg.

"Doesn't matter." Lidia mutters to him before drawing her gun. "Where are they?" Aiden already told her that he took Nicky and Jacks somewhere, and she plans to find out before he gets here.

"You look so familiar. Have I seen you somewhere?" He tries to divert the conversation again, but she isn't having it.

"Tell me where you took them, or I shoot!" She clicks the safety off the gun, showing she means business as she walks around a fallen sideways chair towards the front of the entrance.

He almost laughs before taking a step forward. "Did Aiden hire someone to take my place?"

The words spark a previously unknown rage in her, causing her eyes to flicker with a seething anger. All in one motion, she grabs Damien by the neck and presses the tip of the gun into his crippled leg. "I'm nothing like you. And you're going to do as I say, or this-" She presses into his wound. "-is about to hurt a lot more."

He practically chuckles, completely unafraid. "You're weak. You really think hurting me will do anything? Please." He pushes all of his weight into her but isn't expecting resistance. Nonetheless, he pushes her off of him, catching her arm in the process. He pulls her back towards him, jerking her forearm hard in a twist. He's holding just right against the base of her wrist to where he could easily snap her like a twig. "It's funny you thought that could work."

The way he grabs at her arm reminds her of the way Aiden clutched it after he accused her. Maybe Damien learned it from him, and she wouldn't be surprised. She tries to wrap her arm back around his to tug him off of her, but she's caught tight in his grasp. Pure fear runs through her veins, quiet but there and pulsing.

"Those eyes. What are you so angry about?- oh." In a moment, it clicks for him. He knew he's seen her somewhere before, but having her that close seals the deal. He puts together the pieces quickly. "Miss Hadinson, what are you doing here? Waving a gun around like you own the place?"

A bolt of panic shoots through her body, registering that he knows the truth about her. What will he do with that information? Her adrenaline kicks in, and she kicks out at his crippled leg. He caves for a moment and she tries to put him in a choke hold and turn him around, but it doesn't work the way she wants it to. Damien is able to throw a punch and push her back, making her fall. Her leg injury makes it hard for her to get up from this position, giving Damien time to grab her gun and zip ties from a drawer. 

He aims the weapon at her, watching as the blood trickles from her mouth. "If you would have just let me talk, we wouldn't have this problem." He kneels down and uses the zip ties to secure her hands to a leg of an end table by the kitchen entrance. "See what you get when you think irrationally like him?"

There's so much resentment in her body that she tries to break out of the zip ties as he's still putting them in place. "He's gonna destroy you." She's practically growling, a rasp in her voice that she didn't know she had. "You can run, but you can _never_ hide."

"How cute. You think he's gonna come save you? He'll throw you out like trash, just like he did to me." Damien grabs a knife from the kitchen block and places it blade-side-out on top of the end table which Lidia is tied to. "There. You move too much and that'll fall." Was he right? Would Aiden be too caught up in his sister and leave her for dead here? She looks up and swallows hard, seeing the blade over the edge of the table. "So tell, how did Jack Hadinson's daughter end up here?"

"You're not getting anything out of me." She spits, taking pride in feeling the blood falling down the bottom of her face and down her throat. 

"What a shame. I was hoping to get information before I eventually go to the cops with all this."

"You wouldn't!" She cries out, now in fear of her life. If he tells the cops, who knows what will happen to her and Aiden.

"Seems I have your attention now." He grabs Lena's stuffed lamb, looking over the toy. She can tell he's trying to use her memory as leverage. "If you can make a deal for me, I might just keep your secret." 

She sighs, not able to face him. "What do you want?"

"It's simple, really. Convince Aiden to work with me. Provide updates on the whole situation. You do that, and I'll make sure the press doesn't have a field day with all this." Lidia can tell he's enjoying watching her suffer.

"You're a sick man." She snaps, watching him pace around the room with the stuffed animal. All the while, she's trying desperately to find a way out of this. If she can make it through alive, she'll never hear the end of it from Aiden, but her ego is not her top priority right now.

"What all do you know about Lena?" He asks, trying to make useless conversation. "Six years old, it's tragic." Lidia and Damien both clearly hear the front door opening, and she can tell by the footsteps that Aiden's here. 

"Where are they?" He asks, not even noticing Lidia at first. He stops before he can walk into the kitchen, looking around to see if Nicky and Jacks are still here.

"Such a waste. All of this- it's such a waste." Damien taunts at him, putting Lena's animal down on the sink. "You know, the real tragedy here is that somebody like you was surrounded by fragile things. It makes you _fragile."_

Aiden kicks the chair on the floor towards Damien, causing the object to hit him and knock him into the counter. He uses the opportunity to hit him in the legs with his baton, grabbing his arms and twisting them back as he pushes him into the kitchen sink. "Where?!"

"That's not how it works." Damien forces out from under Aiden's baton and hand. His phone buzzes, and he almost laughs again. "You're going to want to answer that."

"Yeah?" Aiden answers. Nicky's scream of his name comes through the speaker loud and clear. He calls her name back, trying to get a reference of her wellbeing. "Where are you?!"

Damien smirks as the line goes dead. Possessed with a newfound agony, Aiden grabs him by the shoulders and turns him so they're face-to-face, extending his baton again to press into his neck. "Where?!"

"Stop and think." Damien yells, trying to get him to listen. "You fuck around and she's dead!" 

Lidia looks up at the knife, trying to find a way to hit it off the table without it falling onto her. If she hits the table leg just right, can she move it out of her way? She shifts her wrists, watching the knife wiggle above her. Damien notices her efforts, signalling for Aiden to turn around. "Might want to get her out of there before she does something stupid." 

Aiden looks back, finally noticing Lidia tied up with the weapon over her. "You okay?" He worries, watching the blood fall before turning back to Damien, not trusting him unwatched.

"Never better," She says. "Don't mind the knife hanging over me, it's all good."

He slams his baton on the counter, collapsing it as he throws Damien to the ground. "This isn't how I wanted it-!" He yells as Aiden kneels down next to Lidia, grabbing the knife off the table and using it to cut her out of the zip tie bounds. "But this is where we are!" Aiden helps her up, keeping her behind him to prevent further injury. "If you'd listened to me, things would be different." Damien is still rambling like either of them care.

"Just tell me where they are." Aiden demands as Lidia wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She has to admit, she'll never get used to the taste of blood.

"Where _they_ are? It's only Nicky." Damien replies, a cocky tone in his voice that makes Aiden want to get payback for what he did to Lidia. "The little boy…?"

"You didn't." There's a seering in her voice, and she involuntarily steps forward.

"Calm down. I don't know where he is." Damien tries to calm her a little, knowing she'd jump him if she had the chance. "This is what's going to happen." He picks up his phone and sends a message to Aiden, walking past him and Lidia. "That points to a hard drive. I told you there was another hacker? _That_ will lead you to his computer. Get it, and you'll find out who ordered the hit on us. _And_ you'll keep her secret safe." 

It isn't hard to figure out that he means business. Damien will use all of this against them in a moment, and it's evident. "What do you really want?" Aiden doesn't want to dance around this anymore. The longer they play cat and mouse, the more dangerous this will be.

"You lost your right to question me. I want that hard drive, that's all you need to know. That's the price for Nicky and my replacement's alter ego." He glares at Lidia, and she can tell she's close to crossing a line. "I'll need regular updates. In exchange, you get to talk to sis." He goes back to talking to Aiden about this plan like nothing just happened. "Quid pro and all that."

"And if we refuse?" Lidia crosses her arms, not caring that blood is seeping down her lips again. Aiden knows this trick from her- she used it when they first met. Unless she's absolutely lost it from the punch to the face, she's trying to push him as far as he can go until she finds a weakness. He'll admit it's a good tactic, although dangerous.

"Oh, you won't do that. I'm sure you know this is a good deal. Your dad must have taught you something useful to keep you alive this long." Damien jests, making it obvious that the stakes are high (as if that wasn't apparent before).

"Keep mentioning him and I'll make sure you never speak again." She rushes forward, and Aiden has to grab her shoulder and push her back to keep from attacking Damien. "Don't try to-!" She tries again, but his hand is already waiting for her and he thrusts her back. 

Damien shakes his head, way too amused. "Feisty one. I can see why you like her." He strolls past them casually, proud of himself like he's done something great.

"This won't end well for you." Aiden's threatening aura returns, the reality of the situation setting in.

"Perhaps, but don't get clever. I really have no problem killing that girl. We'll talk soon _partners."_ He enunciates the last syllable of the last word to feel like poison in their veins. Damien throws Lidia's gun at her, landing on the floor with a thud. Her eyes shut and tighten, afraid of it going off as he walks away, closing the door behind him.

After the door shuts, the pair look to each other in bewilderment. It only takes a few moments for Lidia to hug Aiden with what little strength she has left. "Woah… hey." His confusion turns to worry quickly as he lets her grab onto him. "What the hell happened? Did he hit you?"

"Yeah," she mumbles. "He got me pretty good."

"How's your leg?" He can tell there's something she's not telling him by just her voice alone.

"Not bad, just sore." If she's honest, she wasn't even thinking about it. "He _knows,_ Aiden." So that's what's bothering her.

"Yeah, I know. I wish he didn't, I might be able to leave you out of this." He jokes but it clearly isn't as well received as he thought it would have been. She just holds him tighter, eyes screwed shut and face buried in his jacket. "What did he say to you?" He can tell it must have been something about him to make her act like this.

"I thought you wouldn't come. You would've been too wrapped up in Nicky and Jacks to care." The tremor in her voice is all too clear, and it's obvious what Damien said really got to her. 

"I wouldn't just leave you here." He pulls away from her, surveying the damage to her upper lip. 

"Speaking of, we need to go look for Jacks."

"You're right. Let's hope he has his tablet with him." Aiden pulls up the IP address like he has it memorized before connecting to the ctOS. "There, I got him. He's on the L. Oh shit, someone's after him." 

"We don't have time to waste, let's go." Completely disregarding her injuries, she grabs her gun and runs out the door. He follows, shocked by her speed and resolve.

* * *

After hacking into Nicky's car, both Aiden and Lidia get inside, sure that she won't mind given the circumstances. There's a moment of consideration before his phone goes off, and he hands it to Lidia so he can focus on driving. _"There you are. I was starting to get worried." _

"The DedSec hacks you gave me- can I control the L?" He asks as she puts Clara on speaker, pulling out of the gated community.

_"The trains? Yes, but…"_

"I need that right now. How do I do it?" The urgency in Aiden's voice is unavoidable as he turns to head towards the L train station.

_"It's locked. Hold on, I'm sending something. It's a zero day exploit, the trains won't recognize the hack but it only works once."_ As Clara is explaining, Lidia can't tell if this is a good idea or not. The more they work with DedSec's hacks, won't they make it more obvious that they stole them? Won't the group recognize that they aren't authorized?

"Send it now!" His worry makes it clear that he isn't thinking about that right now.

_"It's sent. What happened Aiden?"_ Clara is done with knowing nothing. She doesn't want to be left out on details any longer, which is completely understandable.

Unfortunately, she picked a bad opportunity to question him. "I don't have time, meet me at the Owl Motel later okay?" He hangs up abruptly, and Lidia thinks about scolding him but is interrupted. "We won't make it. I'll hack the train and get him to the next station, we'll catch him there." He hacks into the train and gets it to leave the station early, watching as the fixers panic upon realising the issue. They run back into their cars, and Aiden pulls up his phone again. "Cover your ears." He reroutes the data feed so that a pipe under the fixer's car explodes, rocking their vehicle a little bit. Before Lidia can restabilize herself, he's already driving out of the area at top speed.

"Why are we running? We can take them." She notes, not sure as to why they're not addressing the fixer problem. "Won't they just follow us?" 

"You're already hurt. We're not going to make that worse." He explains, and she can't help but feel special because he's worried. "Besides, we need to get to Jacks. We don't have time to stall here." As they head towards the next L station, he throws her a small, round and weighted metal object. "You ever thrown a grenade before?"

"Is that even a question? No!" She replies, not worried as to why he handed her the explosive.

"Well, you're gonna learn. Pull the pin, hold it for two seconds and throw it at the fixers behind us." He says this so nonchalantly, as if this an everyday occurance. Maybe it is for him.

"You're crazy." She comments before rolling down the window and pulling the pin of the grenade. After counting, she throws it as hard as she can out the opening and behind them. After a few more seconds, a loud boom echoes through the streets, and there's a car up in flames behind them.

"That should handle them. If they send more, we'll figure it out later." He's clearly too preoccupied with Jacks to worry about fixers. In a way, it scares Lidia; if they're not careful, this could go south quickly.

The car comes to a screeching halt and they both get out, surveying the area for any more fixers that could have followed them. Luckily, they seem to be alone minus the pedestrians. Lidia tucks her gun into her pants- per usual- before matching Aiden's pace as they get onto the train terminal. "Make sure your hood is up." He notes, not wanting her to get caught sneaking around with him.

"Yeah, got it." She replies while pulling the clothing further over her head before following him into the train. They pass people sitting calmly in the rowed seats, oblivious to the panic unfolding close to them. He glances up and down the aisles, looking for any sign of Jacks. Finally, after passing into the next car, they spot him sitting alone with his tablet. She stays behind, letting Aiden go next to Jacks as she finds a spot facing them but away to give them space.

"Jacks." He says his name softly while sitting down. "You're safe now. Alright? You're safe." The young boy sighs, off-put by the whole situation. Lidia can tell he is super uncomfortable, but is trying to push through it because of his uncle. "Okay listen, this is important- back at the house, did you hear those men say anything?"

Jacks stays silent, upset by what he had to witness. He was barely talking before, and Aiden knows he won't get him to talk now. He _needs_ this, though. If he can get the information, it could save Nicky's life. "C'mon Jacks, talk to me." Nothing. The crowded train car is his only response. "Alright, we're going to find your mom." He tries casual reassurance, hoping that his help will be enough.

As Aiden makes eye contact with Lidia, she gives him a sympathetic smile before standing up. On a normal occasion, she would want to go with him, but she knows this is too personal for that. He mouths a thank you to her as she winks in response and walks away, leaving him alone with his nephew.


	11. chapter 7- all my friends always lie to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Being me can only mean feeling scared to breathe; If you leave me then I'll be afraid of everything_
> 
> (afraid, the neighbourhood)
> 
> it doesn't matter how much happens, lidia is always unsure of herself and who she is with aiden. after clara gets involved, it's bound to just get worse. or better. she doesn't know anymore.

A loud knock resounds off the door, the anger clear through the wooden entrance. It's been a full week since Lidia left Aiden on the L train, and she hasn't heard anything from him since then. Saying she's annoyed is an understatement. 

"It's open!" A voice calls, and she opens the door to step inside. Aiden turns to look at her, seated in the metal chair in front of his projector and monitors. "Figured you'd show up eventually. How's your leg?"

The _eventually_ has her seething. Did he expect her to read his mind and come to his beck and call? "Alright, I guess. Better than it was, no thanks to you." Sarcasm soaks her words, despite her usual snarky voice. This is different, and he can tell.

"Jacks is with his therapist, and he gave me a name. Robert Racine." Aiden jumps right into the information, barely even acknowledging her tone aloud. Internally, he knows something's up, but he’s learned that she eventually gets over whatever mood she’s in.

"Does my predecessor know this?" She quips, not about to let up on him until he realises what he's done. She’s sick and tired of him acting like there’s nothing relating to her and Damien.

He shoots her a glare, something that she doesn't recognize. There's an unsaid tension in the air that isn't just from her. This glare is so different- it's like she actually said something wrong instead of just messing with him. "You're nothing like Damien. Stop it."

"But that's what I am. A _replacement."_ Her words are cutting at him, determined to bury deep under his skin. It's like she's trying to hit at him without physical fighting. "You know I'm right."

"Why don't you worry about helping me with Nicky instead of whatever he said?" He replies, trying to get her to quit this.

"You didn't talk to me for a week, what did you expect?" Lidia sits on the couch with a loud sigh. “I’ve got nothing, Aiden. This is pointless.” The slightest slip up or loophole could expose where Damien is hiding Nicky, but she's got nothing since he hasn't told her what happened. 

He groans as he turns to her. “The more you complain, the more work we have to do later.” 

"That’s the point!” She says with a shrug. “There’s no fucking use in working now or later. We just need to do what he says and we’ll figure it out.” 

He shakes his head, knowing the alternative is to work with him again. “Lidia, you find loopholes. It’s what you’re good at. If you look hard enough, I’m sure there’s a tiny error. So tiny, that in fact, he just doesn’t care. Find it, exploit it, and we’ll be in business.” 

“He has to have some sort of defense.” 

He rolls his eyes. "That's what you're good at." 

"Well, I can't do my job unless you give me something to work with." She retorts, getting sick of his ignorance. 

"What the fuck is your problem?" He finally snaps at her, not taking her copious hints. 

"You. You're my problem and you know it." She never usually calls him out like this, but he can't expect to just brush her off and face nothing for it. "I didn't know where you were, if he caught you, what happened- I knew nothing. I get it, you were preoccupied, but also do you really expect me to materialize information out of thin air?"

"That was the point. You wouldn't have anything to go off of." Aiden doesn't even think when responding anymore. His word filter has gone out the window, just saying what he knows is true at this point. He doesn’t want to hide behind something like he's scared. Even though he is.

"So you were trying to alienate me?" The realisation is hitting Lidia like a brick. Is he actually trying to push her away? Why is he trying now, when she's already in too deep?

"What did you think I was doing?" Slowly but surely, he's getting fed up at her persistence. His facade of ignorance is gone. He knows she understands what he's saying, so why does she keep pushing him?

"Ignoring me?! What else could you be doing?!"

"You want the truth? Fine. I'm trying to get you away from this." She could tell that already, yet it still hurts when he says it aloud. She stands, feeling like she can't sit still anymore. "You’re 18 yet you have the logic and morality complex of an eleven-year-old. Of course, we’re going to have to take risks here. But I’m not putting you in danger again. Especially after what happened last week.” Aiden fires back at her as she shakes her head, listening but disregarding.

“You’re 39 yet you have the one-track mind of a high school boy. Just because I got hurt-”

“Shot,” he cuts her off to correct her. 

“Fine, okay. Just because I got shot last week doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself." It feels like he trusted her with his life not even a month ago, but after her injury he's treating her like a rookie. "I know what I've gotten myself into. And just like you, I don’t want a repeat situation of Nicky and Jacks, thank you very much. I might hate my dad, but I give a shit about you and my maid, if that counts for anything.” 

"The longer you're around me, the more you're going to get hurt." For whatever reason, that one line shines a light on the whole situation. It isn't that he doesn't want her around- it's that he's afraid of causing her pain, whether physical or emotional.

"But that's what you're not understanding." She says, a sadness evident in her tone. "You can keep pushing me away, but it's never going to work because we're one in the same." There's always been deep similarities about the two, and it seems like he never really understood them. "You do this because you actually care about me. After what happened with Nicky and Jacks-? You're terrified of someone else that you care about falling into this mess. And you recognize that I'm already caught up in it; so you try to force me out." 

He joins her in standing, now fully invested in what she has to say. Why does it feel like she’s uncovering some sort of hidden treasure that he never knew about? How can she see that deeply into his head, picking apart the nuanced meanings in his words so much that she came to the conclusion almost before he himself did? Before it was somewhat subtle- but when he saw the opportunity to force his hand and push her away, he took it in the hopes that she would get the message and leave him alone. It isn’t that he doesn’t want her around, it’s actually quite the opposite- he knows he’s gotten too close, and she’ll only wind up in bigger trouble and pain if she gets stuck here.

So yeah- for lack of better words, she's right.

"You can keep throwing me in bear traps, but I will come out a lion every single time.” Her analogy strikes a chord, knowing she’s had to fight for the life she has now. “You would rather push away everyone you love and isolate yourself until your heart freezes over and your soul is as cold as a secondary hell before you even try to admit that you're nothing but a coward." She knows this is going to hurt, and that's the point. Apparently he will never listen until she has to get realistic and brutally honest. "The Vigilante is just another mask you hide behind because you're too scared to admit that you can't be vulnerable to anyone anymore. I don't know what caused it, but that's the difference between you and I. We're cut from the same cloth, but I chose to embrace it and fight back against it- while you hide it." 

There's a flicker in Aiden’s eyes, a realisation that she's right and she definitely struck a nerve. He can't even look at her, knowing he'll give himself away. 

Lidia continues, recognizing the heat in her words. She has him right where she wants him. "You've oppressed it for so long that you can barely even see it's there. And it's affecting DedSec too! We could help them, we really could, and yet, we're making things worse. No, wait- _you're_ making things worse."

"Leave then! I'll stand by what I said! I don't need you!" He can't catch himself before he yells at her. "I've been trying to help you this whole time. I've been _trying_ to keep you out of harm's way, but if you're determined to piss me off and make this worse than it already is, don't expect me to be there when you come around." 

"I have a right to be angry!" Lidia yells back, getting mad about his use of tactics. She pushed him to this, and she knows it; that doesn't mean her point is invalid. Any upset emotion is gone from her face, replaced with a stoic look that makes him want to take everything back. They've stripped each other to their cores now- there's no going back. "And I don't need you watching over me like a hawk."

"If you don't like how I do things, then get out of my life!" He throws a hand out towards her in anger and she steps back quickly, bracing herself with a wince. He freezes as he watches her eyes shut, unable to form a coherent thought.

Aiden doesn't even make contact with her- and didn't intend to- but he can tell what she was thinking he was about to do. "Led, I wouldn't." His voice is much softer now, worried and almost forgetting whatever they were fighting about. That's what this is. _A fight._ Something they haven't honestly had in a while.

"You would." She whimpers. "You would and you know it." 

"You couldn't pay me." He remarks, and her eyes flicker open. "Did he…" He can't help but think there's a reason that her knee-jerk response was to cower away. "Did Jack ever hit you?" She feels herself tense up, eyes shutting again. Lidia doesn't want to look back at him, knowing that she's going to say something she regrets. "Hey, talk to me." Before she can even notice, his hand is on her shoulder, but this time she doesn't shy away.

She shakes her head, not knowing what to do. "It was one time." She whispers, like she’s trying to convince herself that she’s doing the right thing by coming clean. "Only once, but that's why I took his gun. I was afraid he'd move to drastic measures."

He watches the fear fall from her features, hand still primed to attack if needed. Aiden pulls Lidia into him, wrapping her into a tight hug that keeps her from trying to get out of this one. She grasps at his jacket, somewhat shaky. "I didn't know." He says in a way where he’s trying to apologize without having to say he’s sorry.

"No one does." She mutters back. "At least, until now obviously." He lets her pull away, realising she's no longer upset with him. "It was about two years ago. I went to some club with Jay and got a nose piercing in a back alley. Obviously I let it heal back up once I realized it wasn't really what I wanted, that's why I don't have it now. Jack found out when I first got it, and his form of punishment was making me do an interview. Kinda like the one I did recently. He figured I hadn't been on TV in a while, and it would force me to explain my issues since I couldn't hide it." 

"You tried to fight back and he wasn't having it." Aiden can already tell where this is going, merely based on past experiences with her and her dad.

She nods, still trying to find her confidence. "We got into an argument and he hit me. It was the only thing that cancelled the interview. He blamed it on some schedule conflict, but I knew it was to cover up the welt."

"You knew he would've used that gun."

There's some screaming in the back of her head that's telling her she shouldn't have said that. No one was supposed to know. If that gets out, her second life is going to be a lot harder to cover up. "I should go." She switches gears, slipping out of his grasp as her voice goes timid. "You're right, you always are. I need to leave. I came here to get angry and I turned this into a pity party, like I always do."

"Nonono, hold on." He stops her, trying to pull her back into reality. He can tell her mind drifted pretty bad, and she needs a kickstart. 

"This just proves your point." She escapes him again, slowly realising that all this is coming full circle. "I have no self control and I'm gonna keep throwing myself in bad situations. There's no way I'll be any help to you if I can't keep myself calm."

"Lidia, you know that's not true. I was angry and I went off. I shouldn't have, don't blame yourself." This time, she doesn't walk away. "If you're really in this for the long haul, then I won't push you away. But you need to know what you're taking on here." He explains. He never meant to get this upset with her, but he really wanted to prove that she can't just expect for this to come easily. "There's gonna be a point of no return where we both get stuck in something we can't back out of. I was trying to protect you from that." The fact that he's admitting to his fault is already a step in the right direction.

"I think we've made it to that." She replies, shaking her head. "But I've already made up my mind. You're not getting rid of me now." Her strength is starting to return, both mental and physical, standing now doing a number on her leg. "Now, about Racine- would my dad's yacht receipts help?"

* * *

"Mr. Racine will be with you shortly." The front desk assistant says to Lidia as she nods, stepping back to return to her seat.

She looks over the receipts as she sits in the chair in his lobby. This whole plan rests on getting in range of the guard with the access code to Racine's office, and she isn't sure that's going to happen. "Call ICE." She mumbles into her earbud speaker, once again connected to look as if she's just listening to music. 

"Okay, which ICE contact?" The AI assistant on her phone responds through her headphones.

"One." She says, so quiet she's surprised the speaker can even detect it.

"Dialing Fox…" The phone rings for a second before Aiden’s voice crackles through. _"Hey."_

"I'm sitting in the lobby. Apparently Racine is here." She tries to keep her voice as low as possible, not wanting to make herself known in the lobby. No one seems to have recognized her or be paying any mind to her conversation.

_"Perfect. Just get him to take you on a tour of the yachts and we'll be in business."_ Aiden is waiting towards the side of the business where he hopes to get into Racine's office with little pushback.

"I still don't understand how this will get you the access code to his office." She replies, not liking this plan. She was hoping her first task back in action wouldn’t just be a glorified stakeout. 

_"All we need is for some security guards to walk you around. Hopefully one of them will have the code and you can grab it when you get close enough."_ This sounds good in theory, but Lidia is going in completely alone. With Aiden on the other side of the building, she has to completely rely on herself to get in and out safely.

"Then what?"

_"I get into his office and look around."_

"This is horribly illegal. Like, it's almost comical." The adrenaline feels weirdly active, even though this is relatively mellow compared to what they usually do. 

_"Led, everything we do is illegal."_ He’s not wrong.

"Yeah, but this feels like a whole operation instead of just running in there and grabbing server data." 

_"Don't think about it. Just go. The longer you contemplate it, the worse you'll be."_ He wishes it could be as simple as just hacking into something. Gunfights and worry seem to almost be a staple of their lives, so when quieter things like this take place, something feels incomplete.

The receptionist calls her name, and she tucks her phone into her pocket without even bothering to hang up. She knows it’s probably best if Aiden stays on the line. “I’m leaving the call open. I’ll let you know when I send the code.”

He doesn't even need to respond for Lidia to know he understands her point. She stands, walking with the receptionist out the back door and into the marina of the boatyard where different yachts are on display.

"Miss Hadinson! Nice to see you again." Racine greets her, and she has to admit, she’s surprised he remembers her. She hasn’t been in his vicinity for years, seeing as she wasn’t even with her dad when he bought his last yacht. 

“Thank you for having me. It’s been so long!” Lidia instantly puts on her fake persona, making herself look as innocent as possible. It’s as if she went from a hardened killer to the upbeat rich kid that everyone knows and loves. 

_“Wow, lay it on thick,”_ Aiden jokes. _“Actually keep it up. At this rate, we’ll be in the office in no time.”_

“I’m assuming you’re here to look at a product, am I correct?” Racine asks while shaking her hand.

“Of course!” She replies, to both Racine and Aiden.

“What’s the budget your father has been looking at? I’m sure we could find something that perfectly fits what he wants.” 

“It’s not for him, actually. It’s for me, but he told me to pick it out.” Lidia continues her lie, knowing it needs to be believable enough for him to give her a tour. Her number one fear right now is Racine calling her dad to confirm all this, but she knows that won't happen. The last time she bought a car, the dealership gave her the keys before she even signed any papers. It's ironic how much this community trusts her, and she almost feels sorry for using them all as pawns in her game. _Their_ game.

"Is there anything in specifics you're looking for?" Racine asks, gesturing around to the boats. 

She scans the water, trying to find the lot closest to the most security guards and furthest from the side entrance. After a couple moments of surveying the area, she points in the direction that seems to be the best fit. "That seems like a good place to start."

"Right this way." Racine excitedly leads her in the direction where she decided. A couple guards come out from the building, joining their group.

_"That looks like it'll work."_ Aiden observes as he can see Lidia moving towards the guards via his spot outside. _"If you can get closer to their usual stations, you might be able to get the code without stalling too much."_

"If I leave now, he'll notice something is up." She whispers, careful not to alert the guards following her. 

_"Let him talk about what you asked for, but keep moving until you get it."_ He says as Racine starts to ramble about the boats. She pulls up her phone, scanning the guards around her for any sign of the access code. She can't help but get annoyed that her search is coming up empty. Resetting the scan to look through most files proves futile, as nothing comes up again. She nods at Racine and adds an occasional comment, trying to act as if she's paying attention to what he's saying. 

"I'm getting nothing." She mutters softly to Aiden as soon as Racine's focus isn't on her. "I'm checking all the usual spots and nothing is hitting." On a whim, Lidia decides to scan through emails as well, checking usual key words for codes. "Wait, I got it," She says. "I'm forwarding it to you. Apparently they just changed it and sent out an email." 

"Any of these catch your eye?" Racine asks, completely oblivious to Lidia's phone conversation or plan. 

She actually thinks for a minute, trying to decide if she actually wants to blow some of her dad's money on a boat. "Yeah, I like that one a lot." She points to some flashy boat that she likes purely for the aesthetic and not for the actual usage. She doesn't even know how to drive a boat, but she's sure she could figure it out if forced in the driver's seat.

"Great choice!" Racine praises, acting as if that's the best idea she's had when really he's just happy she's buying something.

_"I'm going in."_ Aiden practically startles Lidia, as he's been quiet for so long. _"Stall for a bit."_

"I mean, I'm sure that's the one I want, but could we look around anyways?" She asks Racine, knowing the longer she can keep him away from his office, the better.

"Not a problem, let's look at the recreational boats." He answers, feeling like royalty for showing someone like her around his work. Her reputation precedes her, between her dad and the interview. If only they knew her true nature. He brings her over to some other boats, and she keeps looking out the corner of her eye to see if she can spot Aiden making a run for it into the compound. Sure enough, something that seems like a brown blob darts from the gate into the garage. She knows that's the sign of his coat, and she has to keep the smile from appearing on her face. 

About another ten minutes go by, and Lidia is starting to get worried. She guesses it would make sense for it to take him a while to get in there quietly, but not this long. Why hasn't he contacted her yet? All she's been doing is pretending to be interested in boats and yet it feels like Racine could catch into her in an instant. What would he do if he knew why she was really here? Would he call the cops? Would he kill her on the spot? Some weird part of her wants to ask him about the hit just to see him get uncomfortable, but that's not worth blowing her cover. 

Her mind is pulled from these thoughts when Aiden's voice finally comes through her single earpiece. _"There's nothing here."_

"What?" She whispers, following Racine to some area with jetskis.

_"There's nothing here related to the order. It's a bust."_ His voice sounds angry, but not at her. He holds it back like a landmine waiting for the right person to step over it to strike.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment." Racine says to her, and she wouldn't have noticed if he didn't start walking to his garage. 

"Wait," Lidia cautions Aiden. "He's taking a phone call in his garage."

_"I've got the signal from the security camera.”_ He stays quiet for a moment or two, trying to listen in on the phone conversation. For whatever reason, the security guards leave Lidia completely alone, and her fear spikes. What if Aiden got caught and they’re going to grab him? This doesn’t make sense- why would guards that have been following her this whole time suddenly bail? She’s on high alert, looking around to find a sign of the problem.

_“Lidia, get out of there now.”_ Aiden’s voice finally comes through again, and he sounds angrier than he did before. _“He’s leaving, we’re gonna miss our chance.”_

Before he can even finish his thought, she’s already running for the exit gate. The guards have long left their stations, either dispersing or going into the building. 

“Chance to do what? Guards are on your tail, by the way.” Lidia hops into the abandoned car they brought to the yard, starting it for when Aiden arrives.

_“Do you really think we’re here for a casual chat?”_ He replies, not understanding if she knew the full details of his plan. 

She realises what he means and shakes her head. “This is a horrible idea. I thought we were looking for information and leaving, that’s it.” 

He hangs up abruptly and she rolls her eyes, knowing his communication skills aren’t exactly the best. She can’t believe herself either, thinking it was so simple. If Aiden sees an opportunity, he’s going to take it- whether it involves a million shooters following them or not.

A field of bullets hits the side of the car suddenly, shaking the vehicle. Lidia winces and braces for an impact, but nothing comes, the door somehow shielding her. Almost on cue, Aiden hops into the shotgun seat, gun drawn. As soon as she’s able to, she pulls out of the spot Aiden had parked in before the next rain of bullets can hit. “You missed the party, I just got hit with a rain of bullets.”

“Let’s go, we have to catch him. Try for an intercept, I don't feel like a car chase today." Aiden remarks, looking behind them at the cars following.

"Got another bomb? I have an idea." Lidia says, cutting through an alleyway and using the blockers in the street to hold off the fixers following them- _wait._

As she looks in the rear view mirror, she almost panics. "Uh, do those look like fixers to you?" 

"No, they're- Shit, they're Club." He answers, pulling out an IED. "Whatever your plan is, we can use this."

"That's perfect." She notes, pulling the car to a stall in an unsuspecting alleyway. "I need that and we'll be in business." He hands her the bomb and she hops out of the driver's seat. After walking a little down the road, she plants the bomb in the middle of the right side where Racine would be driving before running back to the vehicle. Not only does she not want to be seen, but she also needs to not get run over. "And now we wait." Lidia gets inside, backing up the car so it's hiding out of the sight line of the drivers on the road. If they're not paying attention, there's a good chance they won't notice them.

Aiden is tracking Racine's phone, watching on a mini map. "Okay, he should be getting close."

She makes sure her phone has a connection to the bomb before backing up a little more. The signal has to be strong enough to reach the explosive, but the car needs to be far enough to not get blown up.

"Now!" Aiden yells, and Lidia doesn't have time to prepare for the inevitable. Her finger presses hard on the button, detonating at the right time. There's a loud explosion, fire and debris flying past the buildings they're situated between. The connection to both Racine's phone and the bomb are gone, signalling the plan went accordingly. 

"Shit, my prints are on the bomb." She mentally kicks herself for being so stupid. 

"Led, there's no way anyone will care. I'll bet you they won't even check it, the Club will cover it all up." He's trying to reassure her, but it isn't working. There's something about the Club working with Racine- but what?

"Even if they don't check the prints, why would Racine hire people like that? Couldn't he just get ramped up security or fixers?" There's a million questions burning in her mind, threatening to spill out like lava. "It doesn't make sense."

"Unless he's a part of the Club." He responds, watching as she backs up and lowers the blockers. They obviously needed to leave before the cops decided to show up. 

"Yeah. There's that." Her response is awkward, a little worry masked with anger. "That just made this ten times harder." It's a quiet moment of Lidia reversing the car into the street, joining the rest of traffic like nothing happened. 

The quiet moments get the loudest. His mind swells with confusion and misinterpretations, still thinking about the conversation they had earlier that morning. "Lidia?" Aiden starts, but quickly decides to backtrack. Why should he care what she thinks? He said it before and meant it- if she doesn't like how he does things, that's not his problem.

"What?" She's already caught onto his question.

"Nothing. No big deal." He tries to cover his tracks, letting the topic fall. 

"Don't lie to me anymore." _Anymore._ There's something about the turn of events that hurts. Secrets and lies are their kind of currency- if they felt like it, they could destroy each other. He agrees in a weird way. He doesn't want to have to sugar coat things anymore with her.

He pauses. "I'm not good with…"

"Emotions? Any sort of relationship that isn't your sister or your nephew? Let alone friendship?" She finishes his thought for him, saying the words he isn't sure of.

"To put it harshly, yeah." 

She smiles softly as the car rolls to a stop. "If you were about to ask if I'm mad, I'm not. Wasn't expecting to kill someone today, but he deserved it, especially if he's working with the Club." 

"And this morning?" He continues, confused as to if her anger carried over. 

She shrugs, feeling odd being the one interrogated. "It's fine. I still stand by what I said."

"Even if the Club chases you?" 

"Even if they try to kill me. I'm not leaving."

* * *

The energy in the motel room now feels so different than it did this morning.

Lidia is laying on the couch, twirling her hoodie string in between her right fingers as her computer sits on her lap. She's staring at the profile she made with Aiden on Robert Racine- although it feels weird after just killing him.

"This doesn't make sense." She says, somewhat to herself but also to Aiden, who's sitting at his desk.

"What?" He questions, knowing they talked about it in the car. What has her so confused?

"I can't get over the Club members chasing us." Her eyes remain unmoving from the screen. "By any standards, fixers have to be less expensive than them, right?"

"I'd guess so, but I imagine they'd do whatever if they have a good enough reason. Why?" He turns to look at her, but she doesn't move. 

"It says here that Racine's business was failing. He wouldn't hire bodyguards that are more expensive." She's laser focused on the profile, scanning it over and over looking for anything useful.

"That's banking on the fact that they're even hired." He brings up a good point, even if she doesn't want to think about it. It's hard for either of them to acknowledge the Club's involvement, especially with their run in revolving Lucky Quinn.

"Why else would they be there? To buy a yacht for Lucky Quinn? And just happen to tail us with shotguns?"

"That's not what I'm saying. What makes you sure he isn't actually in the Club?" Aiden asks, bringing up the question that she kept avoiding.

Lidia rolls her eyes. "What would they want with Racine? Or Nicky, for that matter?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." 

"Even if he hired them, why would the Club want to associate with a man whose business is going under? They've always dealt with high class Chicago." She finally breaks her focus, glancing up at him. Her eyes widen and she gasps. "You think they know I'm involved?"

"You're thinking Damien might be trying to take out two birds with one stone." He stands, walking over to his board with pins and strings at the front of the room. 

"It would work. Get Racine involved knowing I'll be the one to do recon, then somehow get evidence of me being there." She shakes her head, trying to understand the theory they just came up with. "Then again, he seemed unsuspecting."

"It's a thought, but it doesn't feel right." Aiden tries to drop the subject, not liking Lidia being caught in the crossfire. 

"Okay, what are you thinking then." She says as more of a statement than a question. 

"If they knew you were working with me, they would have gone after both or one of us a long time ago." He explains. After sidestepping a couple times to look at different parts of the board, he stops to look at her. "Club members with access to any Blume personnel are dangerous enough, but with you, they could be unstoppable. There's no way they wouldn't just take advantage of that. They would have already lashed out."

"You're forgetting about when I almost got kidnapped by Lucky Quinn." She says, pushing her laptop off her lap and standing up. "That could have been their first attack."

"Damien didn't know you were working with me back then." He realises, originally too overwhelmed to even think about timing. He walks over to his computer in thought. "There's no way he could use that to his advantage if he didn't know it existed."

"... You're right." She sighs, looking up at the ceiling in annoyance. "Back to square one."

"Fucking Merlaut job." He complains, going back to checking the files Damien gave him. 

"Did you find something?" She asks and walks over to the computers. 

"There's this." He shows her a glitchy and static filled video. "This has to be what they protected."

"What the…" Another voice comes from somewhere near the door, causing Aiden to draw his gun in shock. "Hey it's me! You called me here!" Clara defends herself, putting her hands up in surrender. 

Lidia hits the barrel of his gun, signalling for him to put it down. He does, placing it back in his jacket that acts like a holster. "I have a lot on my mind." He uses as something between an excuse and an apology. "Hey, come here and take a look at this." 

Clara complies, putting her hands down and walking to where the others stand. "Who is she?" She questions as she watches the messy screenshot of the video clip.

"We don't know, and it looks like a corrupted file." Lidia answers.

"Do you know how to make the video play?" Aiden is quick to jump the gun, not wanting to waste time. If he's right and this is something having to do with the hit on his family, he needs to do something fast. If Lidia's right and it has to do with her, they have another problem on their hands.

"This isn't fixable." Clara acknowledges something they don't want to hear right now. "You'd need the original."

"Can we run a ctOS search?" Lidia suggests as a way to find the data they need.

"I'm doing that now." Apparently Aiden is a couple steps ahead of her. 

"That's what I needed to talk to you about." Clara changes the subject, knowing she came here for something important that needs to be addressed.

"See, I don't think he knows about this. He would have bragged, I know him." Aiden is too sidetracked on Damien right now. 

"Who would've bragged?" Clara asks, not understanding his jumping thoughts.

"She might be a lead." He keeps talking like he doesn't hear her. "Or not. I gotta stay one step ahead of him."

"Aiden-" Lidia tries to snap him out of this trance. She knows he's worried, but they need to take things slowly if they're going to get anything useful.

"Are you in trouble?" Clara interrupts both of them, clearly upset with her lack of information. She hasn't been kept in the loop about anything, and it isn't helping her work. 

Aiden doesn't say anything in response and just pulls open an IP address on his computer. "He gave this to me. Can you find where it leads?" 

"What is all of this?" Clara finally gets fed up, stepping back a little. "Aiden?" No response. "Even you, Lidia?" Just a shake of her head. "I'm not doing anything until either of you explain what's going on." 

"He took her, Clara." Aiden starts to explain, upset and trying way too hard to mask it. "He- He's using my sister as collateral." 

"Oh my God. The man we traced?" 

"Damien Brenks." Lidia takes over for Aiden, understanding that it's hard for him to explain all of this. 

"Did he do that to you?" Clara notices the cut on Lidia's lip that still hasn't healed- a reminder that Damien could screw them all over. Lidia just nods, knowing that's enough to seal the deal. "I can't help you." 

"What?" Lidia's voice goes somewhere almost scary. Aiden has never heard her get aggressive with Clara, but she's obviously been pushed to a point of anger. "What do you mean? We need you most and you can't do anything?" 

"We can talk later after-" 

"Shhhh." Aiden halts both of the girls, hearing something that they couldn't. Their argument made them immune to the noise outside.

Lidia hears the scuffling as soon as she quiets, motioning for Clara to follow her, and they duck behind Aiden. The three of them dip behind the decorative wall that adorns the front of the room, backs pressed flat to the mapped wall of pins and strings. It feels odd with the pieces hitting into Lidia's back, but she's not worried about that right now. "Cover your ears." Aiden tells them both, and they comply. As soon as he ducks down as well, bombs go off in the back of the room as signaled by his phone. 

Despite being covered, Lidia can still hear a faint ringing in her ears. Time seems to slow as bullets start to fire into the motel room, every nerve in her body telling her to run for her life. 

But she doesn't listen.

Instead, she draws her gun, firing back at the enemies with gusto. Fire and smoke fill her peripheral vision as she runs to the computer monitors, unplugging things with her head still down. "Take the drive and go!" Aiden calls to her, and she grabs it from its port. She gestures to Clara and Aiden, leading them through the back area and into the motel room with the wall blasted off. A hitman tries to stop them, and Lidia shoots out his leg before hitting him down with the butt of her gun. 

"You two get to Clara's car and get out of here. I'll handle these guys." Aiden yells to the girls, fighting with the noise of the battle.

"What? And leave you here? No!" Lidia answers as she fires a couple more shots.

"She's right Aiden, this isn't safe." Clara agrees, obviously putting her previous quarrel with Lidia behind her given the circumstances.

"It's worse with all of us here. At least you two can keep the drive safe." He knows they need to leave, even if they don't want to make him fight alone.

"Aiden-" Lidia tries to protest again.

"This isn't up for discussion. Go, now!" While staying low, he heads down the open hallway, peeking over the edge of small walls and fences to fire at the other fixers.

"Don't get killed!" Lidia shouts, and reluctantly takes Clara down a staircase to the ground floor. Clara shoots at one of the men approaching them and runs off with Lidia into the back alley where the car is parked. 

"I know somewhere we can all talk this out." Clara notes, pausing as they approach the car to send the address to Aiden. She gets in the driver's seat, Lidia entering the shotgun side.

Both of them are far from okay.

Lidia's panicking has only just begun. She's pretty sure she just majorly strained her leg, plus they've lost everything. Minus the drive that they saved, all hard drives and network access points are gone. The ctOS access they have can be fixed from their phones, but now there's no base of operations or side notes. 

Clara is heavily shaken, not sure what to do anymore. Is this what she signed up for? Does she know how okay she is with all of this? She never thought it would get this far. Although she was aware of the threats and pushback, there was no second thought about a kidnapping.

"Did you know about all of this?" She's already sure she knows the answer, but she asks Lidia anyways. 

"I had no idea that fixers were going to try to kill us, but other than that? Yes, I knew about his sister." Lidia replies, rolling her stiff shoulders.

"Is that why Damien hit you?" 

She chuckles. "Damien hit me because I hit him first, but I guess you're right." 

"What the hell is going on? Why didn't Aiden tell me anything?" Clara worries, shaking her head as she looks to Lidia for answers.

"If I had to guess, he's worried about trusting someone he's paying. Same reason why he doesn't trust his hired fixer with the same things he trusts me with." Lidia keeps giving Clara answers but is really worried about doing so. A lot of this seems way too personal to disclose to her, and even then, can they trust her? She wants so badly to have faith in Clara because of her love of DedSec- but she isn't sure what to do.

"And on that note, why does he trust you so much? How did you two even meet?"

She chuckles softly, looking down at her hurt leg as if she'll see it bleeding again; it isn't. "Do you know Hawt Sauce, by any chance?"

"Can't say I do." Clara's accent seems more prominent every time Lidia talks to her.

"He's a hacker I've been friends with for a while. I was doing recon for him when I hacked into Aiden's systems thinking he was a threat. Instead of getting upset, he told me to try again when I got better." Lidia explains their initial conversation. "To this day, I don't know if he was being sarcastic or what, but I came back stronger and got in again. He asked to see the shit I was running and we met. Whenever I ask him about why he trusts me, however," She changes her tone a little, still unsure of herself. "He always says it's because he saw potential in me that could get taken advantage of. He didn't want me to wind up a fixer."

Clara sighs, not knowing what to say. Any anger she had towards him is melted away, weirdly endeared by his care for Lidia. It reminds her of her father, in an odd sort of way she can't understand. Before she can interpret what any of it means, she's already pulling into the place she told Aiden to meet them at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know what kinda hurted tho?? aiden's voice in the beginning of collateral when he's talking to clara and he gets a little all over the place and he almost cracks for a second but he doesn't and UGH he deserved better. anyways.


	12. chapter 8- restore life the way it should be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away; To some fortune that I, I should have found by now_
> 
> (cough syrup, young the giant)
> 
> it used to be so much simpler when it was just lidia and aiden against a world meant to destroy them. now all they have to go on is an ip address and hope that damien keeps his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter gave me an absolutely wack vibe. it hit like the "tongue tied by grouplove" vibes and i have no idea how, so i rooted around in my songs for a bit to find the right one to use for the title lol. also i know im a little early but this counts as my update for april! im hoping to get chapters out a little quicker because of this whole quarantine thing. stay safe, stay home if you can and wash your hands!! <3

Aiden guesses he never looked close enough at stars to see what others saw in them. Until tonight, of course. 

With the world falling down around him, he looks up at the night sky. Stars are always there. Stars may move, but they always form the same constellations. Stars keep shining. Maybe stars are just the stationary thing he needs right now. Something to count on, always be there and do what it has to do. He's never liked to have control over people, just situations. His growing issue is making him uncomfortable with his slipping anger. He seems to be lashing out at Lidia and Clara more often, and he can't say he hasn't noticed it. Maybe he's just an angry person, but even then, it's getting worse by the minute.

The car pulls up behind him, and he can practically feel the tension radiating off of Clara through the vehicle. It's like an angry lightning bolt that cuts through the night sky he was holding onto, making all the stars seem dull. 

There's an odd warmth from Lidia, though, as if he can sense that she stuck up for him. She approaches and gives him the hard drive she grabbed, earning a nod in response. Clara is quick to follow behind her, a look on her face that can only be described as worried. Worried for him, worried for herself, just plain worried.

"Those men. Who are they?" Clara doesn't waste time, starting to ask Aiden questions that she knows he probably can't answer.

"I don't know, they must have picked up on the ctOS search." He explains, and she's subconsciously right- there's no real answer or plan. He has no idea what was going on in the motel room or why the fixers were there.

"That's why I wanted to see you. DedSec says that someone else has the system hack. I took it and I gave it to you two." Clara is practically interrogating them, trying to get to the point she originally had. There's a gut feeling in Aiden that shows the timing- the fixers had to have traced them with the system hack.

"I didn't give it to anyone. I wouldn't." Aiden jumps to defend himself.

"You know I wouldn't either." Lidia says, way calmer than Aiden because she knows that Clara doesn't suspect her as much as she suspects him.

"We need to trust each other." Clara's statement is more of a reminder.

"You know what? I don't have time to soothe you, Clara." Aiden goes quickly to aggressiveness again, pointing at her like he's placing blame. "If you don't trust me, there's nothing I can do. Someone shot up my motel room, my sister's gone and I have nothing." Lidia thinks to herself that he has both of them, but she doesn't say a word. His rants are usually from a point of frustration that she can't even understand. "You are not my priority right now." He walks away to keep from hurting Clara any further. He hates being like this- a distorted persona that only wants revenge. Maybe Lidia was right about the vigilante being a mask. He knows she is. It makes him forget himself, pushing logic aside for whatever his goal is.

"Of course." Clara says quietly, yet loud enough for him to hear. She's obviously upset with him but is trying not to show it. Lidia catches her gaze and just looks down, not knowing what to say. "Do you know this place?" Clara asks her, completely disregarding Aiden- and for good reason.

Lidia shakes her head in response as Clara leads her to the edge of the island, right where there's a concrete dropoff. It looks like the bridge in the middle between the two areas would connect where she stands. 

"Somewhere near here is supposed to be the first test site for ctOS." Clara explains, a sparkle in her eyes. She's back in her element again.

Lidia gasps, something mentioned by Jack in only a few conversations coming into her memory- conversations she shouldn't have listened to. "The bunker." 

"Exactly. At least, that's how the urban legend goes." Lidia listens attentively to Clara as she sits on the concrete spot with her legs dangling over the edge.

"I remember Jack talking about it, but he never said if it was real or just an idea." Under the street lamps, there's this glow in both Clara and Lidia, tying them together unknowingly. Clara's knowledge and Lidia's association creates a powerful dual force.

"The bunker? What, with access to the entire city?" All of a sudden, Aiden is paying attention, walking closer to the two girls.

"Undetected access." Clara adds, making them all acutely aware of the logistics of the situation.

"I thought they destroyed it or just never built it." Lidia is racking her brain trying to think of anything else she heard on the mysterious location. She turns back to face Aiden and Clara.

"I've done months of research on it. City planning, zoning documents. Things they don't want us to see." Clara is bouncing between the two of them, her mind racing as she's paying close attention to the buildings on the edge of the city.

Lidia scoffs. "With Blume, _everything_ is something they don't want us to see." 

Clara extends a hand out to her and she takes it, standing up. Aiden joins the group at the edge of the island. "There's a blank spot on every map. Right over there- ish. And you lost your damage deposit on the motel." She looks pointedly to him, noting their circumstances.

"It can't hurt to look for it." Lidia continues, wanting to see if this legend has a real life counterpart. 

Aiden sighs at the two girls, finally being broken down by their plans. "Let's find it. Spread out and start looking for a way to get the bridge turned towards us." Right now, the iron bridge is facing horizontally, which won't help them cross.

The group splits up, pulling out phones and scanning over different areas. Lidia instantly takes interest in a server box by a security camera, hacking into it as soon as she has the chance. "I got something."

"Well that was fast." Aiden acknowledges as he walks over to her. She's able to grab security footage and quickly scan through until someone is seen crossing the bridge, a remote in hand. "Who's that?"

"Let's find out." She responds and pauses the video. The profile runs on the image of the man, coming up with scrambled information but a clear name- Tobias Frewer. She gasps. "It's Tobias!" 

"Like, Frewer? Tobias Frewer?" Clara calls out, walking over to the duo.

"You two know him?" Aiden asks, having never heard of this man.

"Tobias was one of the ctOS pioneers until Blume fired him." Clara explains as she waves a hand to tell the others to follow her. They comply, following her down the abandoned railroad tracks that lead to the homeless camp under the freeway. "The man is vraiment crazy- or on drugs."

"Or both." Lidia adds.

Clara nods as she continues to walk. "He lives right here in the homeless camp." 

"He's homeless?" Aiden asks, not sure how someone with that sort of stature could be here.

"He's got an underground shop hidden in there. DedSec goes there for some of the more rare hardware."

Lidia's eyes light up and she looks to Aiden in excitement. Her love of DedSec runs deep, and she wants nothing more than to impress the group and join them one day. "Any equipment we might be able to use?" 

"Definitely." Clara responds.

"Any _information_ we can use?" Aiden asks, trying to keep them all focused on the bunker and bridge.

"You can forget him. He's paranoid and won't talk." Clara concludes.

"I can be persuasive."

Lidia scoffs, knowing how his persuasion usually goes. "We need him alive and not paralyzed with fear."

"You both really want this place to be real, don't you?"

"It _is_ real." Lidia and Clara both respond at almost the exact same time, looking at each other like they can read minds. 

"So you're buying into the legend?" Aiden chides with Lidia, not taking her as one for fantasy stories.

"Hey, what can I say? I've always been one for the thrill of the chase." She turns around and replies, walking backwards.

"Papa used to take me camping in Mont-Tremblant." As Clara says this wistfully, Lidia turns back around since they've caught up with her. "He'd always say we were looking for treasure- I didn't understand then that he was stealing from the cabins."

"Your criminal days started young." Lidia observes in more of a praising way than a demeaning one.

"Oh yeah, definitely. We took everything- gold watches, tools, whatever. The look on his face when it was something special… like one time when I found an old rusted coin with a regal emperor. He said it was an ancient Roman coin. Priceless, but he let me keep it. Said it was my door to a magic world- the whole Roman empire." Clara explains, and Aiden can't help but feel endeared. She might seem like a hardened criminal, but she's really just a girl with dreams. He likes that she's got a softer side to her. 

"When Blume started testing new products and ctOS systems, Jack went through a lot of technology." Lidia empathizes. Although Clara's story may be more on the illegal side, Lidia relates through her own lense. It takes Clara a moment to understand that Lidia calls her father Jack. "I stole some of it and went through it. It was operating systems and equipment he didn't need, so it was fair game. I think it's why I am the way I am." 

"We are the daughters of liars and thieves. Stars in our eyes." Clara reacts, and Lidia smiles in return.

Aiden is thankful that they're bonding, worried originally that there would be animosity because of the interview. He wondered if Lidia's personality would override those original feelings, and it seems he was right. "Well, I hope the Bunker is real too." 

"It is real." Clara protests as they arrive at Tobias's shop. "That's where he runs his shop. Mostly black market junk. Sometimes you can find rare schematics if you're lucky." 

"He's not here." Lidia addresses, noticing the bolts and such around the door. There's no way Tobias is in his shop. "What now?"

"Someone here has to know how to reach him. Let's have a look around." Aiden suggests, deciding to split the group again and they let him walk off since he obviously has a start for a plan. 

"So… I saw you light up when I mentioned DedSec." Clara says to Lidia as soon as she has the chance.

Lidia softly laughs, turning back to her. "Yeah, I guess I'm not as calm and collected as I thought." She knows how it feels to have people fawn over you- even if she hasn't personally experienced it, her dad has multiple times. That's why she tries to be so cool around Clara. She doesn't want to be fake or just save face, but she's also trying to not be an average fan.

"It's alright. I mean, your dedication is wonderful." Luckily, Clara catches the point, and she really does mean what she says. The fact that someone so powerful is on their side means more than just stance.

"I've been following you guys since I was 16. It feels surreal now that I can finally help." Those words make Clara ecstatic. The daughter of Jack Hadinson looked up to DedSec for years, and not just because of media hype? Sign her up.

"You're exactly who we need on our side." The two girls are looking for someone to help them find Tobias, but are more focused on their own conversation.

Lidia chuckles. "I'm flattered. Thank you." 

Aiden comes jogging up to them, looking around before glancing back down at his phone. "I tracked a call, apparently he's playing poker nearby. I'll try and intercept." He acknowledges that they really weren't looking that hard, but he can't be mad- he's more impressed that Lidia and Clara are getting along.

Lidia scoffs. "Need extra?" She tries to discreetly slip him a wad of cash as she walks by, Clara following her. He accepts the money and laughs, prompting her to turn around and wink. He flips her off and she rotates again, heading back to their car. 

As she's walking, her phone buzzes and she looks down to see coordinates. She turns around a final time, but this time, he isn't there. A smile crosses over her features as Clara stops next to her. "Just another day?"

"Like any other."

* * *

Aiden rounds the corner to chase Tobias through the neighborhood. He follows him in-between the two backyard fences, surprised that neither of them have given up yet. "Stop, now!" He doesn't want to hurt him, hell, he really only needs the remote for the bridge- but after Tobias realised Aiden knows his true identity, he wasn't about to get caught.

Aiden's almost sure he's going to lose him in people, feeling a little tired after hopping over so many barriers. Before he can even try to pull out his baton and incapacitate Tobias, a blur of white streaks across his vision and throws him on the ground for him. As he's trying to process what just happened, he recognizes the signature white hood and grabs hard at it, pulling straight up to get her to stand. "What the hell was that?"

"Figured you needed help. I've been following you for at least three blocks." Lidia replies, breathing hard and letting her hood fall to her back. He lets go of her and grabs his baton, watching Tobias flip over onto his back to face then both. When he finally stands up, he's holding a gun that he must have hidden in his jacket. Both Lidia and Aiden step back, hands raised in surrender.

"I just need one thing, and then we can let you go." Aiden tries to be calm to keep from getting shot while walking towards him slowly.

"No, no way, they'll find out." Tobias is very jittery and nervous- Clara was right.

"We're not with them." Lidia replies, voice soft to sound less condescending.

"Why should I trust you?" Tobias asks, a good question considering they've been chasing him for many blocks. 

In one move, Aiden grabs Tobias's gun and bends his arm back to have the gun pointed at his head. "Because I could shoot you and take it."

Lidia rolls her eyes, keeping from making any outward comments. He always seems to resort to violence when it comes to these things, and it's starting to bug her more than it should. He disarms him, taking the gun and noticing Lidia's less-than-impressed expression. "That ain't an answer man." Tobias protests, feeling at his head where the gun was.

Lidia takes a couple steps forward, then kneels down in front of him. "I agree. This can be so simple if we just talk this out." He seems less afraid of her than Aiden. "We don't work for whoever you think, and no one needs to know about any of this, okay?"

Tobias nods in response, realising she's the gentler one of the two. Even though she can be deadly if needed, she doesn't really like to get her hands dirty. "No power to the bunker," he explains. "They cut it. There is no power. Do you get it? Might as well call that place a tomb."

"We can work with that." Aiden says, not wanting to get any closer so he doesn't scare him. 

"That's all it ever was when you think about it- a tomb. Anyone who ever touched that fuckin' place… we all have one foot in the grave." Tobias's words ring true for Aiden and Lidia more than they want to realise.

"We do too." Her statement comes as a bit of a shock for Aiden, almost taken aback by her forwardness. "This bunker is our only safe hiding spot for now. We need access to it."

"Safe? Why would anyone ever call that safe? I'm safe here, far away from that place." Tobias is getting more frantic, and they can tell they need to wrap this up quickly.

"That's even more of a reason to give it to us. It's out of your hands and it becomes our problem." Lidia can tell she's close to getting the remote from him, she just needs to push a little more. "Can I have it? Please?"

"I built the remote, y'know. That's what I do, I build things." He's stalling, obviously getting close to giving it to her but not sure if he's ready to part with it yet.

"That's great." Lidia simultaneously sounds like she's undermining him but also actually interested in what he has to say. She's mastered the craft from her dad- something she learned from her upbringing that actually comes in handy. "Do you think you could build things for us if we need it?"

"Yeah, fine. Sure." He doesn't sound completely positive, but nonetheless, he gives her the remote. She looks it over, weighing it in her hands. "That's heavy, huh? Trust me, it only gets heavier."

She nods in acknowledgment, letting him stand up before she follows. Aiden gives Tobias his gun that he confiscated, but with the clip removed. There's a smile soft on Lidia's features, looking up at Aiden somewhat smugly. She knows she was able to do something he couldn't- or maybe he could have done it, just with a lot more hassle. "Wonder if he recognized me." She comments quietly to him as they watch Tobias walk away.

"Lidia? One more thing." As if he could hear them despite their low volume, Tobias turns back and addresses her, clearly showing that he knows her. "You're something special. I saw your interview, and I noticed regret in your eyes when you had to belittle DedSec." She nods, understanding that he only caught the nuanced look because he's felt something similar. "You're a good kid. Stay out of trouble."

"I'll do my best." There's a hint of sadness in her tone, but it's heavily masked by a calm expression to keep her steady. Finally, he walks away. 

"He's right, you know." Aiden notes as he walks closer to her. "You do need to stay out of trouble."

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Hey, I got us what we needed. Speaking of, let's get back to Clara before she tries to swim over to the Bunker." 

* * *

The bridge controls start up with a screech, rotating the platform so it stretches to connect both islands. Lidia's eyes light up, full bodied excitement coursing through her veins. She grabs onto Aiden's arm as he looks at the control for the bridge, and her smile is enough to get him happy about this too. He looks down at her purely joyous expression, giving her a smirk in return. "It's real." She says, quietly but with enough impact.

"I know." He responds, gazing out at the path.

She breaks away from him, jumping up and down like a little kid while giggling and smiling. "Fuck you Blume! We did it!" 

He laughs as he watches her celebrate. "You should be the one to call Clara."

"Nononono, I wanna hear her get mad at you for not believing it." She replies, walking back over to him. 

He takes out his phone and calls Clara, putting her on speaker so they both can talk to her. _"Did you find Tobias?"_ She asks as soon as the call connects.

"Yeah. We played poker, had a nice chat." Aiden teases, deciding not to tell her to draw out the suspense.

_"What did he say?"_ Clara obviously isn't too pleased with his timing.

"It's real! Clara, we were right!" Lidia cuts into the conversation, watching Aiden shake his head with a scoff.

_"Oh my God! I told you! Don't you dare go in without me, I'm on my way!"_ Clara exclaims, clearly just as excited as Lidia.

"We still have to restore the power and find an entrance, you have plenty of time. See you soon." After Aiden's comment, Clara hangs up, obviously eager to get to them quickly. He starts to walk back to the car, motioning to Lidia to follow.

"I'm gonna walk across. This is too big of a deal for me." Lidia says to him and he shrugs, getting into his car and flashing the headlights to signal for her to go first. She grins and pulls her hood off, sprinting across the bridge. Her hair flies behind her and she can't stop smiling. She feels free for the first time in a long time- completely free from her dad and the worry of their world. She only stops when she gets to the other end, not wanting to slow down but getting tired from her previous jumping and this burst of energy. 

Aiden follows in his car, passing her and stopping as he approaches a couple of buildings. She stalls in front of the driver's side window to get him to roll it down and give a command. "There's a weak power signal coming from there." He points at the area that looks close to the power box. "How comfortable are you with heights?"

"Comfortable enough." She responds, walking around a side or two of the building to see if she can find the box from where she's standing. "Is that it?" She can see a fenced-in electrical box on the roof of one of the further buildings.

"Think so. Use that lift to get up there and unlock it. I'll handle the one to the right, Clara can get the last one when she comes in." She nods and he drives off down the path towards the next power supply. 

Lidia looks up at the roof, a little daunted by the height but not afraid nonetheless. She climbs into the lift and hacks the signal, making it fully extend upwards so she can climb onto the next platform. After a couple of ladders, she arrives at the fenced in area that connects to a security gate. She walks around the perimeter for a moment or so before spotting a camera, hacking into it to reveal the router connected to the gate. The signal is hijacked with ease, allowing her to open the security door and walk inside the fenced area. She gets a little closer to the box before checking into it again and realising it isn't connected to the power box. She glances around the area to look for another, then sees a large metal vent running from this building to the next. Problem is- it's blocked by the fence.

That's no matter for her. She quickly finds a heated area with worthy combustion and hacks into it, causing it to explode with a shake of the building. "Hell yeah." She mumbles to herself before walking across the vent to the next roof. The next security gate opens with ease, already unlocked by her other hacks. She's met with the power box that appears to turn on the rest of the island. She hacks into that as well, standing back in case the sudden surge of power is going to cause a shock.

Luckily, it doesn't, starting up with a whir. Another loud whoosh sounds quickly after she turned on her supply, and she's sure it's Aiden doing his part. She walks to the edge of the building and sits down, legs dangling over the edge like they did on the island. She smiles, enjoying the ability to look over the calm area. It's nice to just sit back and relax, even though it only reminds her of the work that needs to be done. 

"Was that you?" Aiden calls from below after stepping out of his car and closing the door.

"The big explosion or the loud hum? Because yes, to both." Lidia yells back. "You got the other one right?"

"Yeah, Clara should be here soon." He replies, and she sighs. She doesn't want to get down from her perch but she knows she probably should. "Any idea where to look for the entrance?" 

She sighs again, realising she has to get down to help him. "I'll be down in a second." She swings her legs around to stand up, walking back the way she came. Once she comes to the lift, she stands in it and hacks it, letting it lower her down to Earth. Aiden meets her at the lift’s base. "I would guess somewhere close to the ground. There's a lot of containers here." 

“Would it be underground? We’re on an island.” He acknowledges, pointing out the fact that the base would be underwater if the Bunker is below them.

“How cool would that be?! What if it has windows so you can see fish swim by?!” She replies as she crawls out of the lift, entertaining the idea that the Bunker is like a literal and metaphorical playground for the best engineers in Chicago. She knows that’s probably not the case, but in a weird way, she hopes she’s right. 

He chuckles, enjoying her enthusiasm as they walk back to his car. He needs this kind of encouragement after the warning Tobias gave them. Is he right, and they’re just walking right into a trap? Or is evilness a thing of glory rather than greed? He calls Clara again, needing to update her so they can continue. “You’re in charge of the last bit of power, we’re almost there. Once we’re in, can you get us online?”

_“In my circle, this is the find of the century. If I fuck it up, you can give Lidia my hacker card.”_ Clara comments, clearly stating that this legend isn’t something to take lightly. DedSec would have a field day with something like this, and she’ll admit she’s nervous about earning her respect.

“Do you actually have a hacker card?” Aiden jokingly asks her, side-eyeing Lidia to see if she’s going to call him out.

She does. “Are you serious?”

Clara laughs at the pair. “_Get us inside, maybe I’ll show it to you someday.”_ She promptly hangs up, leaving Lidia and Aiden alone again. 

Lidia lets herself sit and slowly roll back onto the hood of his car, looking up at the night sky. “What time is it?” She mumbles to Aiden, noticing that there’s no hint of daylight.

“Three.” He responds, turning back to look at her as she groans. “Why?” 

“That explains why it feels like I’ve been up forever.” She closes her eyes for a moment before opening them quickly again. “If I do that for too long I’ll fall asleep.”

“What happened to those all-night benders when you used to jump from club to club?” He teases as she groans.

“Be glad I don’t have that much energy anymore. And I’ll admit, I usually wasn’t sober.” She rolls her eyes then watches the stars, sitting in silence with him for a bit. 

It doesn’t last long. “It’s too quiet.” His words are soft, like he’s talking to himself as if she isn’t there.

“Sometimes it’s nice.”

“But sometimes it isn’t.” He protests as she locks eyes with him. “Do you ever get that feeling like we’re doing something wrong if it’s not deafening and dangerous?”

She sits up as he places himself next to her on the car. “I hate it.” She responds, sleepiness evident in her tone. “It happens a lot to me. I used to thrive on silence, now it scares the shit out of me.”

He rolls his shoulders as he tries to relieve tension, then realises he should be relishing in it. Tension comes from tough conversations in human interactions. The longer he’s around her, he’s realising he truly can’t function completely alone. Even if it’s his sister and nephew, they’re still people that give him some sense of companionship. “Isolation used to be my saving grace. At this point, I need something else to distract me.” 

“And let me guess- I’m the distraction.” She laments, watching his facial expression change to try and be unrecognizable. He’s always known how to read people like an open book, and she’d like to think she’s picked up on his mannerisms he’s tried to hide from her. This is a look of… worry. Like he’s worried about admitting what they both know is true.

He finally caves. “You, Clara, Jordi, Nicky, Jacks, hell even Damien sometimes- to put it briefly, yes.” He shakes his head before looking at her. “You may have been onto something when you said the Vigilante is just a mask I wear.”

She laughs at the words she once said, looking down at her lap. “Well, it was a lucky guess. Because I do it too.” She blinks rapidly, like she’s trying to mask tears or focus on something else. “I’ve always been worried that Vital is just a made-up thing I want. Sometimes I question if I’m just in teenage rebellion or if I really want to be a hacker for the rest of my life.”

“Nothing says you have to stay in this forever. You could ride with DedSec for a couple of years, go off the grid and change identities then come back and do white hat work.” 

She shakes her head before looking back up at him. “I don’t want to be anyone else.” 

“There’s your answer. You don’t want to be Lidia, you want to be Vital.” He replies, letting her eyes scan his features like she’s looking for something. “Then make Lidia and Vital the same person. You’re in this for the long haul, even Clara can see it.” 

“Make Aiden and the Vigilante the same person, then we’ll talk.” She grumbles half-heartedly as his phone buzzes.

_"I found it!"_ Clara's excited voice rings through the device, signalling that she fixed the last power supply. _"I just heard the system come back online."_

"We'll be inside in a second. Where's the door?" He asks, and Lidia suddenly hops off the car. She has this newfound energy now that they're actually going into the Bunker.

_"Should be a red Blume container nearby. It's on a crane of some sort."_ She responds, and Lidia opens the flashlight on her phone. It only takes a scan or two of the area to find it, causing her to give him a thumbs up.

"Lidia found it. Wait for us." He responds to Clara.

_"Why? It's perfectly safe, nobody's been inside for years."_

"Because I want to see your face when the door opens." He says as he walks over to the entrance.

Clara laughs, wanting to rub it in his face that Lidia and her were right. _"You'll have time, I want to check some connections anyways."_ With that, she hangs up.

"How do we open-" Before Lidia can even get the sentence out, Aiden hacks the door open. It slides with little issue, revealing a red interior with a window on their right side. "Oh." They step inside and he hacks again, this time to move it to the last route. It's obvious that this crane has been used to transport this entrance for the last years of its existence. Lidia looks down at her feet as the crate moves up slowly, then whipping her head around to look at him with glee. She makes her way to the window, tapping on the glass slightly as she watches the environment move. "This is amazing."

A split second of Lena crosses Aiden's mind, the thought of her getting excited over trivial things reminding him of Lidia now. Would she be proud to see him like this? Could he honestly face her after what he's done? There's something in his head saying he'd just lie to her like he's lied to everyone else.

But then there's _her-_ Lidia. Why did he take so quickly to the unpredictable rich kid he barely knew? He's asked himself the same question so many times it doesn't sound like words anymore. He's always guessed it's because she cemented herself in his life without caring about consequences. Now, as he watches the childish excitement in her as she turns around, he really starts to question if it's Lena he sees in her eyes. 

The container stops moving and the door opens, revealing a dark space with only a single light in the middle of the room. Metal stairs lead down into the area, dusty monitors and old keyboards sitting on desks under the light. A wall of bigger screens is directly in front of those, allowing for split access. Other boxes and crates are covered with tarps and sheets, as if someone was trying to bury an old secret. Lidia sees all of this through the window on the container and sprints out the door as soon as it opens. She practically jumps down the stairs to get to the bottom, stopping to look around. "Holy shit." She breathes softly as she admires the work around her. "This is quite the legend."

"Glad you stayed awake for this?" He chides with her, and the tears she has in her eyes when she looks to him aren't from anguish- it's pure happiness.

"Absolutely." She mumbles as she walks closer to the monitors with him following close behind. She obviously starts looking for a power supply, trying to get everything running as quick as possible so they can get to work.

"See? We were right." Clara's voice comes from the stairs minutes later. "DedSec would make good use of this."

"We all need to make a deal here. No one can know about this. At least until after I'm done with it." Aiden calls through the room.

Lidia just nods to him, too caught up in joining Clara. Clara smiles at her as she reaches the bottom of the stairwell. "Of course." She replies to him.

"One condition, and this may be too much to ask-" Lidia starts, and Aiden rolls his eyes as he can tell where she's going with this. "But can you list me as a co-founder?"

Clara laughs, leading Lidia back to the monitors so they can start the Bunker. "It would be a crime for me to leave you out." Her smile is wider than Aiden's ever seen as Clara gives her a pointed look. "Wanna help us get her back online? The power is up there."

Lidia nods and heads up the stairs quickly, finding the power setup and pulling the lever. The room lights up like the Fourth of July, monitors and screens brightening. She looks like a kid who just walked into Disneyland, completely in awe and excitement. The screens in front of them turn to red errors, but she could care less.

"Câlisse!" Clara swears, startled by the sudden error screens. Lidia hears this and walks back down the stairs, looking around at the things that obviously need fixing.

"Tu parles français?" (You speak French?) Lidia responds, not sure if she's brushed off the thought before or if this is the first time she's actually heard Clara use the language.

"Mostly Quebec French, but yes. I can do both." Clara answers in English.

"Led, what the hell was that?" Aiden says, confused as to why he's never heard her speak in anything other than English before.

"J'ai pris des cours de français pendant six ans. Jack a dit que cela me faisait paraître plus sophistiqué." She explains, then quickly translates. "I took French classes for six years. Jack said it made me look more sophisticated."

"And you never mentioned this because?" He asks as she helps Clara dust off the equipment.

"Je ne pensais pas que c'était important." She concludes, then switches to English again. "Didn't think it was important."

"Now you're just showing off." He comments, and she laughs, looking over the contraptions that connect to the monitors. 

"Looks like Blume took most of the hardware, but the connections are the important part." Clara observes as she bends down to connect the port to the computer towers. 

"Can we be traced from here?" Aiden asks as Clara uses her phone in the port she placed. The sync allows the information to be transferred into the computers without having to manually copy everything over. 

"More importantly, pouvons-nous suivre tout le reste d'ici?" (Can we track everything else from here?) Lidia questions, wanting to make sure that they can get data while remaining undetected. Aiden shoves her gently, as if to tell her to knock it off. She just laughs, seeing the slight smile from under his cap to tell her that he's somewhat enjoying this.

"This is a secure site." Clara responds to them both. "By design, it's untraceable and unhackable."

"Yet here we are, about to hack it." Aiden says, sparking a giggle from Clara. He can tell that everyone is a little ecstatic to have this place to themselves.

"Are you sure we won't set off any secret alarms?" Lidia adds, always a little too careful.

"You'd have to be the one to tell us that." Clara requests, wondering if Lidia is hiding something about the origins of the Bunker. She knows she probably isn't, but it seems odd that she knows entirely nothing.

"I have no idea. I mean, I'm pretty sure this is completely off the grid now, or they tried to wipe it from all data." Lidia admits, kicking herself for sounding stupid in a time like this. As she says this, everything connects together, allowing them their ctOS access through the monitors, screens and computer towers.

Lidia mumbles something about everything working while Aiden pulls up the IP address. "I need to know where this comes from." He shows it to her and she plugs the numbers into the system.

"What's special about it?" Clara asks, knowing it's a dangerous question but wanting to see what she can pull from him.

"It's just a lead, that's all." Aiden replies, unluckily for Clara since it's obvious he doesn't want to say more.

"How did Damien find this? This is pretty well hidden… doesn't leave any doors open." She comments as she finds a location. "Looks like it's coming from the Rossi-Fremont district."

"Viceroys, right?" Lidia replies, wanting to have a plan to know who they're dealing with.

Clara nods. "Looks like there's some surveillance cameras."

"We can use those to get a peek inside. Can you connect from here?" Aiden points to the router points as he watches Clara move quickly across the keyboard to see what she can do.

"No." She pauses, almost in awe. "They're completely off the grid. This is bizarre."

"Looks like we'll have to bring the party to them." Lidia confirms, earning a slight nod from Aiden.

"I'll be up and running before you get back." Clara concludes to the two. "That is, unless one of you wants to stay and help me."

Lidia is conflicted, wanting to go with Aiden to check what's going on but also wanting to get a closer look at the equipment. She then realizes that she can come back and scan the hardware later, but this territory can't wait. "I think I'll go with this time."

Aiden honestly thought about leaving her behind to help Clara accomplish more, but he knows it's probably better if he lets Clara work alone. "I agree, best if you come with." 

Clara nods to them both, letting them walk back up the stairs and into the shipping container again. Aiden closes it and makes it move to bring them back to ground level, leaning against the wall of the makeshift elevator with silent thought. Only the rumbling of the lift accompanies them.

Lidia is still over the moon about the discovery and yet she can't help but shake the feeling that something is wrong. Apparently Aiden can feel it too, glancing at her before looking out the window. 

"It's the silence again." She finally says, ready to bring up whatever this is.

"Not this time." He responds, causing her to step towards him with a knowing look. It's something that speaks louder than words, a telling sign that she can see right through him again. "Clara."

The name is all she needs to know. "This is fine. At least, for now it is." Her words are both a warning and a confirmation.

"Without her, we'd be nowhere." He acknowledges. This isn't close to the openness she wants but the fact that he's admitting the shakiness of the relationship is a start of something.

"I agree. But we also know how dangerous trust can be." She's reluctant about the comment, but deep down she knows she's right. 

"You're one to talk." He scoffs and she rolls her eyes, aware that he would push back. "Weren't you the one fawning over her a couple minutes ago?"

"Doesn't mean we can't be careful. Doesn't mean _you_ can't be careful." She crosses her arms as more of a defense tactic instead of discomfort.

"Sounds to me like you need to make a decision." He notes her shift in attention as a sign that he's right. She can't keep bouncing between not trusting Clara and wanting to make her proud. That confusion could mean life or death, and he doesn't want to force her to call a shot when it matters most. "What's more important, impressing DedSec or your distrust of Clara?" 

"It's not that I don't trust her." Lidia feels the need to explain herself. "I'm just worried that if we put all our faith in her and she lets us down we'll end up at square one." 

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen." He replies, resorting to his usual knight-in-shining-armor tactic. How long will it be before he realises he truly can't protect everyone?

"Yeah, like you can predict the future." She retorts, at this point feeling the growing tension.

"I never said I could. I'm just trying to keep everyone's best interests in mind." Aiden confesses.

"You don't need to worry about me." She shrugs him off before looking to the window, as if she can't look him in the eyes anymore.

"And yet I do." He affirms as the lift stops moving, indicating that they've reached the ground again. "You know the real reason I wanted to bring you with me?"

"Why's that?" She's paying attention but still can't meet his eyes.

"Because I wanted to drive you home and convince you to get some rest." 

She laughs, stepping back. "But you need me-"

"I need you on your A-game. Not trying to convince yourself of one thing or another." He says, waiting for her sarcastic response.

It never comes. He can tell she's truly tired, and as he opens the door to the elevator, he waits for her to go first to make sure she doesn't try to go back and help Clara.


	13. chapter 9- this ain't no place for no hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I can't see where you comin' from; but I know just what you're runnin' from_
> 
> (short change hero, the heavy)
> 
> lidia and aiden are fighting the good fight. more than anything, they need to rebel against the people tying them down. they're both lucky they have backup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can we believe that im actually on a schedule now?? anyways i guess this is my post for may?? <3

Lidia isn't even sure what time she got home that morning, and Fiona wasn't angry in the slightest. Now that she's met Aiden, she's way more okay with Lidia staying out late at night, so long as she doesn't come back with another gunshot wound. The only evidence Lidia even went to the bunker is a text from Aiden with a redistributed bridge and elevator control attached so she can work the equipment from her phone. Other than that, she passed out in bed, bra-like tank top and sweatpants in place of her usual day attire. She would have slept in her clothes, but she didn't know how long she'd be out for and if Aiden was going to wake her up like he often did, so she prepared for a full eight hours if not more. 

* * *

There's only one thing Aiden can complain about when it comes to working with Lidia- her horrendous schedule. More often than not, he found himself asking her multiple questions at normal hours of the morning only to have her respond late in the afternoon. He knows it's partially his fault, since she's often working late with him, but yet he's always managed to get up and be productive at a reasonable hour.

Today is no exception as he types out something quick on his phone to ask about Rossi-Fremont and if she has anything on hand that could be useful. An hour or so goes by and he realises she's probably knocked out somewhere, so he'll have to wait a bit to get anything of substance. He decides it's fine, it can wait, especially when Clara adds them both to a group chat an hour or so later.

**Clara Lille-** so I figured we could talk about the bunker.

**You-** Good plan and all, but Lidia is asleep for the time being.

**Clara Lille-** how would you know that?

**You-** Common sense. She hasn't answered me since she got home last night.

**Clara Lille-** fair enough, I don't mind annoying her through.

Clara has a weird hybrid way of texting that combines normal sentences and punctuation with casual talking. He doesn't mind it, it's just an observation. It makes him wonder if Lidia purposefully uncapitalizes letters since Clara's auto-caps are off yet it still applies in some places.

**Clara Lille-** we should put some money towards refurbishing the place. maybe not a lot, but enough.

**You-** I like that plan. Might want to wait for Led though. She's the money of this outfit.

**Clara Lille-** does she donate to the vigilante fund often?

**You-** On occasion, when she sees fit, like yesterday playing poker.

**Clara Lille-** did you win? I forgot to ask.

**You-** No, no I didn't. To be honest, I didn't even finish a hand before I talked to Tobias.

**Clara Lille-** oh, alright then.

**You-** I had a good hand though.

**Clara Lille-** sure you did.

**You-** I did, honestly.

He lets the conversation end there, obviously waiting for Lidia to wake up to talk about anything important since she handles finances.

* * *

Lidia groans, rolling onto her stomach to bury her head in her pillow. As rested as she is, she still doesn't want to get out of bed. She feels like her body is oddly healed, even after getting hit by Damien and shot only a couple weeks ago. This is the first time since the attacks that she's actually assessed her injuries and how she physically feels. The skin around the gunshot wound is still a little tight, and when she looked over the area last night, the scar was still red and forming. Obviously it's going to take a while to heal, considering it wasn't just an accidental cut. Her lip is slightly sore, but that's only if she was to hit something hard- like when she dropped her phone on her face. The memory grabs a soft laugh from her, and it stirs her to grab her phone. As she picks her head up to check the time, a quiet curse comes from her and she suddenly is out of bed. 

**You-** hey who was gonna tell me it's already TWO PM

**fox-** Good morning.

**badboy-** lol hi Lidia!

**You-** why did no one wake me up

**fox-** You didn't get woken up by our back and forth chatter? Not our fault you're a heavy sleeper.

**You-** UGH

**You-** anyways i agree that we should put some money into the bunker

**You-** how does 10k sound

**badboy-** what?

**You-** ten thousand dollars towards the bunker

**You-** im thinking a bed, a couch and a mini fridge

**You-** so long as we all vow not to fuck in there

**You-** i mean aiden won't have a problem with that but still

**fox-** I agree with the furniture plan, and I think we can all agree not to bring random people back to the Bunker.

**badboy-** you're just going to take that roast?

**fox-** She's partially right, I haven't dated anyone for years.

**You-** aidddeeeeeennnnn it's not a roast if you agree with me

**fox-** Exactly. I beat you at your own game.

**badboy-** anyways you're really okay with throwing 10k at an abandoned Blume project?

**You-** you forget money isn't an object for me

**You-** and im 90% sure aiden will be living there since the motel is gone

**fox-** Probably, yes.

**You-** you guys can go shopping whenever ill pay you back eventually

After talking in the group chat periodically while throwing on a jacket and making herself look presentable, she tucks her phone into the pocket of her sweatpants and rushes halfway down the stairs to see someone familiar leaning against the end post. 

"Harper?" She says, somewhat to him but also in general.

He spins around when he realises someone called his name, walking up the stairs to meet Lidia. "Shhhh, I'm trying to eavesdrop."

"Shit man, how long has it been?" She whispers to him as he fist bumps her, their usual greeting when they get to actually see each other.

"Dunno, but it's been a while. You were at the Merlaut, but I can't think of a time after that." Considering it's been over a year since that meeting, it's definitely been a while since they've seen each other. Harper and Lidia always got along, just not in the way their parents wanted to. They never had any romantic interest in each other, especially since he's had a crush on one of his childhood friends for years before they met. "Did you just wake up?" 

She laughs softly, trying not to draw attention to their conversation. "Yeah, maybe."

He shakes his head. "You really don't change, do you?"

"Never have, never will." She replies as she looks past him into the kitchen, where Andrew and Jack are standing and talking. They haven't noticed Lidia on the stairs yet. "What's all this about?" 

"No idea. My dad just told me we were coming to see you two, but he didn't say why." He glances back at the two businessmen standing at the counter. “He didn’t tell you either?”

She shakes her head. “Dude, I got home at almost five this morning. So no, I had no idea.” 

"Ah, there she is! We were just talking about you, Lidia." Jack smiles as he calls her out, and Harper can practically see her entire body tense as she realises they've been caught. He forces himself not to laugh as they walk back down the stairs.

"Good morning! Hello Andrew." She responds, instantly switching into her business persona. "I would have dressed more appropriately if I knew we had guests."

Andrew chuckles, unperturbed by her lack of appropriate attire. "Not a problem. Your father and I were just talking about a business merger that could carry down into both you and Harper."

The aforementioned people look to each other in slight confusion. Harper may plan on going into business, but Lidia sure doesn't. "That sounds great and all, but I don't think I'll be working for Blume."

"She's not sure of what she wants yet." Jack interrupts before Andrew can respond, shooting Lidia a glare that he doesn't catch. Harper, standing right next to her, sees it clearly too. 

"Nothing wrong with that, choices of that magnitude take time." What Andrew doesn't realise is that Jack doesn't see this as a choice. "Either way, this merger will greatly benefit us now and later. Especially with this vigilante on the loose."

The two men chuckle, obviously one of menace. "Maybe we'll be the one to put him behind bars before the cops do." Jack acknowledges, and Lidia can feel the uncomfortableness rising in her body.

"Why arrest him when he could become an informant? If he knows so much about ctOS already, couldn't he be of use?" She doesn't mean it, knowing Aiden would never work with Blume, and even then he'd be risking a lot. She's just trying to make it look like she has the company's best interest in mind.

Jack brushes Lidia off with ease. "Don't be stupid. He's a psychopath with a dangerous weapon. Even if we got him on our side, there's no telling what he'd do. Don't speak to things you know nothing about."

She can feel her blood boiling. Even if it wasn't about him, did Jack really just say that to her? And Andrew isn't batting an eye? Harper glances from Lidia to his dad, wondering if she's going to make a move. He's never liked the tone her dad takes with her, but then again, he doesn't know what goes on in her private life.

She just shrugs as Jack quickly brushes her off. "Imagine the press for that- _Vigilante of Chicago Colludes with Blume." _

The men laugh like he's some sick joke. Harper notices Lidia's discomfort, but says nothing about it. "We'd never hear the end of it." Andrew replies. "And then we'd get painted as the bad guys, although he was the one causing problems in the first place."

"Exactly! This is all banking on the fact that we could get within five feet of him anyways. As if he wouldn't kill us the first chance he gets." Jack chides, and Lidia decides she's heard enough. She turns on her heel and heads for the stairs. "Admitting defeat this quickly?" Jack is just adding salt to the wound at this point.

"I just don't see a point in eavesdropping when it doesn't concern me in the slightest." Her tone is devoid of any malice, coming across as simply normal. It's a shock to Harper that she can keep her cool like this. He tries to figure out what's wrong with her, but she doesn't show any emotions as she stops. "Wish this visit could be longer, but I'm not in the mood to deal with their bullshit right now." She says softly to him.

"Yeah, makes sense. I can tell you what all they said later." He responds, letting her walk back up the stairs. She checks her phone as she walks away from the conversation, noticing the missed text messages.

**badboy-** so I've been thinking

**badboy-** $10,000 seems like a lot but we probably should upgrade some hardware too

**fox-** Like, bigger monitors on the desks? Another storage drive?

**badboy-** definitely more storage and maybe another tower

**badboy-** my point was that we might have to budget a little, depending on how much we get in terms of technology

**fox-** It's not cheap, I can agree with that.

**badboy-** probably should replace some cabling too, who knows how old this stuff is

**fox-** I say we handle our supplies first, so let's update the technology. We can use whatever is left to furnish the Bunker.

**badboy-** speaking of furniture, I was thinking two beds, a couch, a mini fridge and a dart board

**fox-** A dart board sounds like a horrible idea.

**You-** exactly why i like it

**fox-** There she is.

**You-** due to Jack's lack of a brain, yes im back

**fox-** Lidia, I don't trust you to throw straight as it is, let alone possibly drunk and aiming for a target with a sharp steel object.

**You-** that's because im not straight ayyyyy

**badboy-** same

**badboy-** Aiden you’re surrounded by bi women, how do you feel

**fox-** Unfazed.

**You-** nice

**You-** back to the topic at hand, i read through what you guys said and i agree with upgrading our shit

**You-** also aiden do we have anything to do today because im feeling a bit murderous

**fox-** Did your dad piss you off that much?

**You-** oh yeah

**You-** how much do we wanna bet i can climb out my window to go outside instead of having to go downstairs

**badboy-** oh my god

**fox-** How far down is it?

**You-** no clue

**fox-** You've jumped from some heights before, but it would depend on how you land and how high it is.

**badboy-** you're seriously not stopping her?

**fox-** She'll know if it's too far.

**You-** i have no clue how high up it is for the record

**You-** id be jumping into the side roof cover thing then jumping down from that

**fox-** You'll probably be fine. Probably.

**badboy-** this is crazy

**You-** aiden i have a horrible idea

**You-** sneak behind my house to where the side roof is and ill throw my shit down to you, take it and ill hop down and we can gtfo

**fox-** I hate that you make a convincing argument.

**badboy-** you're going over there?

**fox-** Sure, I'll come get you and we can go back to the bunker.

**You-** YAY THANK YOU

**badboy-** this sounds like an accident waiting to happen

* * *

It's been about an hour since Lidia first set up her escape with Aiden, and she's sure it'll be of good use. She was hoping Andrew would be gone by now so she doesn't have a lot at risk, but he's still downstairs with Jack and Harper. She showered and was able to confirm that her bullet wound is starting to scar up, but is still a little worrying. The strain she's put on it from fighting Damien and going up and down stairs definitely took effect. She knows that this plan to throw herself off the roof will probably make her injury worse, but she's not really concerned about that as she swings her leg over her windowsill and plants her foot on the secondary roof.

"Why can't you just go out the back door?" Aiden asks from his place on her driveway. He's looking up at her, somewhat confused as to why she's about to risk getting hurt again.

"Andrew and Jack are in the kitchen, I have to go downstairs to go out either door." Lidia replies, pulling her other leg out the ledge and sitting on the window sill.

"You must have really pissed him off." He says, as she starts to slide to the edge of the roof.

"He talked shit about you. I don't stand for that." He can tell her response isn't the full story, watching as she stalls once she dangles her legs over the edge.

"Where's your stuff?" He comments, noticing she didn't bring her usual backpack with her.

"Won't need it. Especially with all the equipment in the Bunker." 

He scoffs as he shrugs his shoulders. "Why am I here then?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Without warning, she stands back up and throws herself from the roof, only a second or so to react before she hits the ground. She bends her knees to absorb the impact, rolling forward to properly distribute her momentum. Due to her unprofessional nature, she fails to stick the final landing, crouched like Spiderman and wobbling as she finally straightens out on level ground. "See? Quick and painless."

"Was it really that painless?" He remarks as she dusts herself off.

"Again with the questions." She rolls her eyes as she starts to walk towards his usual parking spot further from her house. It's an extra safety precaution so Jack doesn't realize what's going on. "I'm guessing you went ahead to Rossi-Fremont without me."

"You know I do _nothing_ without you." He teases, and the demeanor is nice compared to what she dealt with this morning.

"That's horseshit." She still sees through his words.

"You know it." 

"So what did you find? I'm assuming you got into the networks." She wishes she could have helped him, but it seems like he didn't need her. She takes comfort in the fact that he wouldn't have done it if he didn't think he could handle it, plus he wasn't purposefully forcing her away.

"We're connected, but we need to take a look inside for any details." He answers, slowing down as he realises she's not following him anymore.

"So you waited for me." She chides, smiling. Aiden can objectively say her smile is cute, just on the general principle that he likes to see her happy.

"No, I-" He definitely did wait for her, but he's not telling her that.

"You have no excuse, you live at the Bunker and you were probably setting up stuff with Clara. You had no reason not to check." 

"Hey, I had shit to do this morning. You saw the text messages, I wouldn't have done that if I was in the same room as her." The shit-eating grin on her face never dissipates as he tries to explain himself.

"Keep talking because the only one listening to your excuses is the wind." He laughs at her comment, soft smiles on both of their faces as they continue to walk to his car.

* * *

As Aiden and Lidia walk out of the elevator and into the Bunker, they both notice Clara standing at the far end of the walkway, leaning on the railing. She obviously heard them both come in, but she hasn’t turned around yet.

Lidia has to contain a small gasp as she can practically see herself in that moment. It was on the day she shook hands with Aiden, sealing her fate into a mess she would never be able to imagine. She was nursing a beer she stole from her dad and looking out the window in her room as if the world was exploding in front of her eyes. To her, it was. She was trying to convince herself she made the right choice by deciding to help him, and she believed she had. Believes, would be the right word to use. Her mind has never changed about her decision.

She wonders if they’re thinking of the same thing.

Clara turns around finally, facing them both before walking through the entrance silently. Lidia isn’t sure of the choice she’s made. Does she just need some air, or is this goodbye? Something registers with her that Clara wouldn’t walk away from this- the Bunker, Aiden, all of it.

He must see it too. “You’re done then?” His state of shock is something new to Clara. She isn’t used to his voice projecting his thoughts instead of expertly masking them.

“You have what you need.” Clara says matter-of-factly, almost sounding disappointed that he expected anything else.

“So far, yeah.” It’s obvious he isn’t dropping this so quickly. “Okay, look, I understand if you’re scared-”

And she is. One look at Clara speaks volumes to Lidia, recognizing some repressed emotion. It looks like worry, but it isn’t geared towards the near-death experiences. There’s a reason she’s so suddenly backing out, yet there’s no fear of being killed by Club members. 

“I’m not scared.” Lidia observes Clara’s bold lie but she raises no alarm to it. “No one asked me to stay.”

“Alright, well, no one asked you to leave.” Aiden observes reluctantly. He’s still getting used to bantering normally with Clara.

Lidia laughs, moving to stand next to her. “Oh c’mon, you can do better than that.” 

Clara shrugs her shoulders humorously. “What she said.”

Aiden clears his throat, leaning against the metal beam behind him. He’s starting to regret the partnership between the two girls. Although the cooperation is appreciated, it seems like they’ve realised they’re on the same side for most everything. “I could use some help.” He forces out, watching the smirk on Lidia’s face grow.

The duo shares a knowing look, provoking an eye roll from her. “Weak.” 

He heaves a sigh, expecting Clara to go easy on him. It seems that she’s unstoppable with Lidia backing her up. “I could use your help.”

Lidia is desperately holding back laughs, trying her hardest to not let her calm facade fade. When Aiden makes eye contact with her, she can’t help but giggle. “You’re such an ass.”

Maybe this is worth it if Lidia is this excited. Clara is equally enthused, looking up at him innocently. “Like a team?”

“Sure. Like a team.” He admits, not really feeling bold enough to confess that he wants to work with both of them.

_Want._ That’s a word that feels foreign. This is something he knows he needs- companionship, even in these circumstances. He feels selfish for it, remembering that pulling these girls into this mess can only mean trouble. Clara’s already been in a gunfight, Lidia’s already been shot, Nicky's already been taken. Why does it feel like every woman he gets close to is just put in danger?

Then he’s pulled from his thoughts as he remembers that they have _all_ willingly put their trust in him. And every part of his being is screaming not to let them down.

“He’s still not used to being in a team, is he?” Clara chides with Lidia.

She groans in response. “Nope.” She leaves the two alone, making her way down the stairs as she’s eager to look over the footage from Rossi-Fremont. 

Aiden moves to try and follow her, but Clara stops him before he can even start. “Was that so hard?”

“No.” He mutters softly, like he’s convincing himself of something she already knows. 

It takes one look at Clara and Aiden for Lidia to notice the chemistry. When Lidia flirts with him, they _both know_ she’s entirely kidding, but watching the way Clara looks him over is making her think this is something different. She freezes as she watches the tail end of their conversation, not knowing how to react to this new information. She isn’t jealous; but where the hell is this coming from? Were’t they just running from hitmen and wasn’t Aiden just worried about trusting her? The fact that Clara obviously isn't telling them something coupled with the newfound affection has Lidia in a weird position where she's not sure what to think anymore.

Clara says something else quietly before walking down the steps to join Lidia. “Thank you.” She says with a wink and Lidia just smiles in response, not wanting to give away the epiphany she just had.

“You coming, team leader?” Lidia calls to Aiden who’s still stalling at the top of the stairs. She’s somewhat hoping he’s contemplating what just happened too so he can realise that him and Clara would never work out in this situation. She doesn't want either of them getting hurt, and this looks like a one way ticket to something that will destroy them both. 

Not to mention, y'know, the eleven year age gap between them. She hopes Aiden subconsciously recognizes that.

She hears him scoff and finally he brings himself down the stairs, meeting the other girls at the bottom as he approaches the main monitor. “You sure that IP is here?” He asks to get a bit of clearance as he leans over the desk, tracking the signal into Rossi-Fremont.

“It’s in here, on the top floors. How do we get there?” Clara responds as she pulls up a chair next to him. He successfully connects into the building, getting a clear look at the interior. The walls are coated in graffiti, dirt and debris everywhere to be found around the area. Some trash is piled up in corners, other bits just strewn around the room. Viceroys and homeless people stand on two sides of a gate, the homeless person trying to convince the others to let her inside.

"We ride the cameras." From the view he's looking at, he can see another camera on a laptop pointed on the inside of the gate which he hops to. There's a building security box that he intrudes into quickly, hacking through the firewall and into the network. He spots another camera he can connect to and selects it, now a floor higher. "Look at that, the whole place is custom wired. These aren't typical gang-bangers."

"Jesus Christ, look at their weapons." Lidia comments as she stands to the left of him, looking at the guns at the sides of the Viceroys on this floor. There's more debris and clutter with more people, some sitting on boxes or leaning against counters.

"It's like a fortress. I don't see an easy way in." Clara comments as Aiden starts to spin the camera around, dully noting the Viceroys in the area as he looks for another intrusion point. He notices that he can hack into the elevator and change the order, making it come down to the floor the current camera is on. When the door opens, he hacks into the security camera on the ceiling of the device before signalling it to go back up. "You've done this before." Clara notes as she watches how quickly he moves.

"I admit nothing." He responds, too busy focusing to come up with a better comeback.

"Lidia?" Clara asks, seeing if she can get something out of her.

She just shakes her head in response, a snarky smile to show that this isn't their first rodeo.

The elevator dings and the door opens, revealing another easy camera to get into. He switched views and surveys the area, now in an area with multiple catwalks and stairwells like a big central apartment. The Bunker is quiet as he continues on, jumping from camera to camera with only the soft hum of the computers and cursing of the Viceroys to accompany them. 

Finally, the camera shows them the front of a locked door with a card reader on it. "Shit." Lidia mumbles as she realises they won't be able to get into the room right now.

"The IP address is coming from there." Clara acknowledges that the entry to that space is vital in this situation.

Just as Lidia is about to ask what they should do, a dark skinned man with dreadlocks tied up on the back of his head walks through the door, unlocking it without a physical key card. He's wearing a long sleeved white sweatshirt, a black shooting range target adorning the garment. Black sleeves come from the shirt, the seam where the colors change invisible from an orange sleeveless puffy vest. This matches with black cargo shorts and ripped camouflage pants under them, black basketball shoes to top it off. He has a pair of earrings and a yellow tinted wrap bracelet as accessories, not over stylized and just enough to complete the outfit. Aiden furrows his brow as he pays close attention to a chain around his neck. "The key is hidden in his dog tags."

"Great, we're fucked." Lidia complains, knowing it's going to be hard to retrieve something so personal like that.

"Listen, ain't nobody stole from you, boy. Get your boss on the phone." The man who just walked out of the room starts barking orders at the other.

"Wait, maybe this is useful." She watches as he clearly bosses the other man around.

"Bedbug, get your ass in here." He beckons to someone else and a larger black man walks into view. His black hoodie has a skeleton silhouette over it, orange embellishments such as stripes on pocket seams and the zipper. His sweatpants match, black with orange stripes vertically down the sides of the legs. Orange track shoes and a black newsboy cap finish the outfit, his arms cradling a briefcase. "Man, I told you to put that back where you found it. This shit won't fly." The first man starts to scold him.

"But I was just-" Bedbug tries to make an argument for himself, but is quickly quieted down as the other man puts his hand on his shoulder and leads him back towards the door.

He sighs, obviously trying to collect his thoughts so he doesn't completely explode on him. "You remember Gramma's bulldog? The ugly little fucker?"

"Fathead." He responds, and Lidia gets the sense that these men aren't siblings despite the interaction.

"Always came running when you hollered for him, right? But he always kept pissing on the floor too, you know what I'm saying?" 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Why is this important?" Clara mutters and Lidia nods in response. 

"No, no you don't." The man in the best speaks again, more sinister this time. "Listen, you're costing me business. Who do you think is gonna win between you and business?"

The tone in his voice makes Lidia's heart leap into her throat. She's pretty sure she's heard her dad use that exact line on her before.

"Iraq, Mr. Quinn's on speaker." One of the other Viceroys calls out, alerting him. Now they have a name to a face- two people they could count on to know about the RFID tag.

The phone call goes on, but Lidia isn't listening. Her entire body feels tense, her fingers curling into tight fists slowly. Her knuckles hurt but it's only a calm pain in the back of her mind- the arguments are louder. The screaming, Jack telling her she's nothing to the family, the way that she always would retreat into her room knowing she can't win. Fiona always tried to help her but it never worked. He'd always dismiss them both as overreacting to a minor situation. She still can't believe Fiona hasn't lost her job yet. She tries to calm herself down by thinking of the companionship between the two girls but it doesn't work. The harsh words drown out the noise from the monitors and the other men talking. She can feel her eyes burning from staring too long, yet she can't bring herself to move them. She's trapped, and she doesn't even know for how long. It feels like only moments to her, but it must be longer than that.

Until a soft tap at her arm has her literally shuddering in shock as she is pulled quickly back into reality. "You okay?" Aiden asks her softly, watching from the corner of his eye as her hands relax.

Lidia clears her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Uh, what all did they say? I missed it."

"Apparently the briefcase is a guest list for something. Quinn and Iraq are making a deal." He explains, and she puts the pieces together that Iraq is the man in the orange vest.

"We need the RFID to get in that room. And I have no idea how the hell we plan to get it." Lidia recovers quickly, deflecting her mind back to the events unfolding in front of her instead of ones in the past.

"We don't need to worry about getting inside. Bedbug will handle that for us." Aiden replies, trying not to think too much about how fast her mind must be working right now to switch topics so quickly.

"Just like that? And why should he help us?" Clara asks, making a valid point since they currently have nothing to bribe him with.

"I'm betting he's one mistake away from a bullet to the head, so when he makes that mistake, I'll be recording. Nothing like blackmail to change someone's tune." Aiden notes, not willing to rule out fear as a tactic.

Lidia feels a jolt of guilt in her body, worrying already about trying to do this. She's never liked taking a vengeful stance against their foes, although it's the first one usually suggested. Especially someone as young and vulnerable as Bedbug. Granted, "young" is used lightly since he's a year older than her, but Iraq surely does treat him like a child.

Clara nods, understanding her role in this plot. She's going to have to help on an encryption and surveillance standpoint while Lidia and Aiden work on talking to Bedbug. She takes to one of the other monitors to run security and help patch up some things in the Bunker to get them running smoothly for this operation.

Lidia is about to walk away too when Aiden tugs lightly at her wrist. "You sure you're okay?" 

She shrugs and rolls her eyes. "I'll be fine. I always am. If you're sure about this, we'll have to make sure we keep Damien focussed on the hard drive."

He rolls his eyes as she tries to deflect the conversation. He understands that this isn't easy for her, but it doesn't mean she can just let it go. The longer he thinks about it, the more he has to hold back a laugh- he really should take his own advice. "We get Bedbug and we can solve this. Maybe get to Nicky sooner than later." He decides to go along with it, just to appease her for now.

"So what's our next step?" She asks, wanting to know if she should be starting on something soon.

"Furniture shopping?" He doesn't sound so sure of himself.

She laughs. "Really? That's what you wanna do next?"

"It's too late for us to try and catch Bedbug during a phone call, especially when he's coming back from their main house anyways. Let's handle it first thing tomorrow." He explains, and she honestly can't believe he's willing to put this off.

"If you're sure." She sighs, calling out to Clara. "We'll be back! Going for the goods. I'm driving, I know where we can get our shit." 

"Run by Tobias and grab some components, please? I'll text you what I need." Clara asks as Lidia and Aiden start walking up the stairs.

"No problem. Give me any recommendations for hardware too. I feel like your list is longer than mine." She replies as they reach the elevator, ready to go back to above ground again.

* * *

As Lidia and Aiden are driving back to the Bunker with a car full of equipment and furniture, his phone goes off and he looks at her, a little startled. "It's Damien."

"Put him on speaker. I can't chew him out but I can sure as hell get mad." She retorts, wishing that this cat and mouse game could be over quicker.

_"I read the news today. Something about a high speed chase near Parker Square. Had all the hallmarks of Aiden Pearce."_ Just hearing Damien's voice through the speaker is enough to make Lidia's temper rise. She can tell he's talking about where Aiden was without her.

"Are you with Nicky?" Aiden isn't kidding around when it comes to keeping his sister safe.

_"Of course. And are you with Lidia?"_ Damien responds.

"Of course." He answers.

_"I read the article to your sister and I highlighted all your signature moves. She was quite alarmed, she didn't seem to know you like I do."_

"Just get her on the phone." Aiden rolls his eyes, obviously upset that Damien is going to these lengths. The taunting, the roundabout puzzle- why can't he just be direct?

_"Now now. The IP address."_ Damien is adamant about what he wants.

"Yeah. There's-" Aiden starts to explain.

Damien cuts him off. _"No no no, I want to hear Lidia say it. She was supposed to work behind your back if you disagreed with me."_ Aiden watches her as she focuses on the road, obviously not wanting to admit that Damien is right. _"Luckily she didn't have to do that,"_ He gets louder to make sure she can hear, _"-did you sweetheart?"_

"I wouldn't have, you know I-" She tries to defend herself quietly, knowing that she wouldn't have thrown Aiden under the bus. If he makes a call, that's what she does; he knows that, and she's hoping he'll take her seriously.

"We'll talk later. Answer him." Aiden's tone of voice sounds like he's obviously masking the fact that he's angry with her, but he's not about to call her out with Damien listening.

She sighs, hating that she even has to do this. "There's a server in Rossi-Fremont. It's guarded like a fortress."

_"See? That's why I needed help. Have you found a way in, or has Aiden taken you off of computer duties?" _

The way Damien treats her as an inferior pisses her off more than she can even begin to describe. "First off, he doesn't boss me around. If I don't want to do it, I won't. Second off, we're working on it. Third off, just fucking put Nicky on the line."

The line goes quiet for a moment or so and she worries she may have pushed him too far until Nicky's voice crackles over the speaker. _"Aiden."_ Lidia is really thankful Nicky has no idea she's helping her brother.

"Hey." Aiden's voice instantly relaxes when he hears his sister. "We're getting close, you'll be home soon."

_"What's going on? This guy talks like you two are friends."_ This is the first time Lidia has heard Nicky for longer than a word since the kidnapping, and she can't even imagine the stress on this woman right now.

"We're not friends- not anymore. Nicky, don't listen to his bullshit." It hurts to know that Damien and Aiden used to be the same sort of team that Lidia, Clara and Aiden are now. Not in a jealous way, but in a way that makes her understand why he's so hesitant about some things.

_"You afraid he'll give up your secrets?"_ Nicky's affectionate teasing makes Lidia realise maybe that's why he's so open to bantering with her.

"I got no secrets." Aiden rests his hand atop Lidia's on the console. She can't tell if he's reassuring himself or her.

_"Seriously Aiden? You expect me to believe that? I'm your sister."_ Lidia tries not to laugh at the motherly tone in Nicky's voice.

"Shouldn't my sister be cutting me a little slack?" He chides with Nicky, and at this point Lidia is biting her lip hard to keep from making any noise.

_"Really? Oh, 'cause I'm being held by your 'friend' and you need a little slack."_ It seems like Nicky isn't letting Aiden get off of this one easily, and Lidia is thankful they're finally at the Bunker so she can stop the car and tuck her head down to laugh.

"Well, it sounds worse when you say it like that." He tries to cover for himself but horribly fails. He sounds like a kid who just got caught stealing from a cookie jar.

_"Aww, have I hurt your feelings? I forget what a sensitive boy you are." _

"You know me, heart on my sleeve." Aiden squeezes Lidia's hand and she looks over at him. She's pretty sure this is the most calm he's been in a while.

_"Fun's over kids. I hope your plan's a good one, Nicky does too."_ Damien abruptly hangs up, not even giving them a chance to say goodbye.

* * *

It took a while for Lidia and Aiden to put everything in the bunker, mostly loading items into the elevator then getting Clara to help unpack. After doing a horrible job setting up the couches and almost forgetting how to make a bed, their work for the day is done. With a plan ready for tomorrow, it's nice that they're able to just sit back for the rest of the night. Lidia asked Clara if she wanted to join her and Aiden outside, but she declined, saying "There's a lot deep in these systems I still want to uncover." 

As she steps around the large container elevator, she's a little confused about why Aiden is nowhere to be found. Then she gets the text message.

**fox-** I'm on the bridge.

It's a short walk to the edge of the island, where she sees Aiden standing in the middle of the bridge with a beer bottle in hand. She brings her drink with her and walks onto the overpass, questioning it even more when he presses the bridge remote to turn it horizontally, essentially trapping them both in. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Have a drink with me." He offers as she walks closer, able to steady herself despite the moving metal.

She seems prepared for it, although she looks mildly concerned. "What's all this about?"

"You were so excited about the bridge when we found it. Figured I'd come and understand why instead of just sticking to land." He takes a drink as she rolls her eyes.

"You just wanted to talk to me about something in private." She scoffs, able to understand that although that may be partially true, he has deeper motives. 

There's a pause between the two of them as he waits for her to say something else. He can't try to refute her point since he knows she's right. "How are you holding up?"

"Does it matter?" She retorts.

"Of course it does." 

She takes another drink, not turning to look at him. "If you're gonna say what I think you're gonna say, then get it out."

"Alright then." He sighs, not really wanting to ask but needing to know. "Can you handle this?"

She gives him a look, something short of a glare. "I said it before. I'll be fine."

"You don't sound convinced." He isn't going to sugar-coat what he thinks. He's to the point now where he's able to tell when she's lying through her teeth, and this is one of those times.

"I'll handle it. Always have, always will." She says softly, drinking again to keep from talking. This is a lot truer- even if she's upset about something, she'll try to hide it until she can't anymore or unless it's important. 

"If you want to sit this one out, I get it." He reassures her but knows he won't be able to stop her if she still decides to help.

"Make me a deal then." She decides that if he wants to worry about her, she's going to make this work in her favor. "When we handle Bedbug, you let me do it. I can hopefully get to him without needing the blackmail. We get it just in case, but we don't use it at first."

He doesn't really want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but if she thinks she can handle this, he might as well let her. Plus, he knows her background with her dad. After how she got Tobias to listen easily, there's a solid chance that the Bedbug issue can be solved without too much pressure. "Fine. Business deals and all that, I know."

They sit in silence for a bit until she sighs. Damien putting her on the spot in the car made her very uneasy. Is Aiden still mad about that? Is he waiting until she realises she screwed up? She never wanted to find a loophole around him, and she wouldn't have done it anyways. Feeding information doesn't seem like a huge problem, but in this situation, it could mean life and death. "Look, what Damien said, I-"

Aiden groans, like he's just generally annoyed. "Led, do you seriously think I would have dropped the topic if I believed him?" He knows that Damien must have said a lot to hurt her at Nicky's house, and he's pretty sure that's when he made the offer. He's also very sure that Lidia isn't stupid enough to take it.

"You seemed angry, that's all." It's not fear in her voice, but it sounds like she was ready for a confrontation and is definitely glad she didn't get one.

"I was. But I knew you wouldn't have done it."

It's a sigh of relief that he's recognizing how she acts now. She wishes he would have been like this back when Damien first came to him, but he was also incredibly worried. For that, she let him off the hook, so it's nice to see that his normal way of processing is running again. "Guess the gunshot did wonders for our relationship." 

He laughs, realizing the juxtaposition between those events. "Too soon."

There's still a lot more on her mind, she's just not wanting to say it all. It sounds stupid in her head, like she's just making excuses. "I can't stop thinking about Rossi-Fremont." She sounds like she's complaining about her own brain.

"When do you _ever_ stop thinking?" He comments, watching as she starts to pace around a little.

"It's more than that." She's wandering around the bridge at this point, staying close so she can talk to him but enough to give herself space. "Did you… did you even see the conditions they're living in? Just because no one cares? Blume could fix that place up." She looks at the big office building as she talks, like she's taking her anger out on it. "From a business standpoint, they could make money out of it too! Good publicity and all that shit but no! No one fucking cares!"

He lets her vent as long as she needs, understanding that this has obviously been something she's thought over. She takes another drink, the burn from the alcohol not bothering her- it hasn't for years. 

"I could do something." She mutters, shaking her head.

"Like?" He doesn't really see any options for her here, especially ones that would keep her on a low radar. Big sudden charity donations could make her a new object of public affection, and the last thing they need is a tabloid spilling her secrets. 

"I don't know, something." She turns back to look at him in thought.

"That's specific." He chides with her. 

"Well-" She's about to start a sentence then quickly realises something, "Okay, I start with Bedbug. Find some way to repay him in return for helping us. If he wants a new place or freedom, I'll help."

"You're serious about this?"

"Of course I am." She shrugs her shoulders longingly. "I always said I wanted to make a change, right? Take down the company that's hurting us. Well, maybe that starts with people who are considered public menaces to society."

Aiden scoffs. "You act like we're not two of those menaces."

"We get to be quiet about it. We have that luxury, while a lot of them are forced to live like this." 

He has to admit, he's proud that she wants to use this situation for good.


	14. chapter 10- the infrared scope of pointlessness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Got my degree in the gutter, my heart broken in the dorms of the Ivy League_
> 
> (west coast smoker, fall out boy)
> 
> there's a lot going on. at this point, it's hard to differentiate between what could be helpful and what will just create more problems to solve. lidia's level head has been known to conflict the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yall! this chapter is a lot shorter than usual because tbh ya girl has Absolutely No Brain Cells Left. i hope everyone is saying safe with everything going on right now! here's some blm resources -->
> 
> https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Losing balance on what feels like a stable surface is an odd feeling. The weird shakiness is enough to pull Lidia from her slumber. It reminds her a little too much of falling asleep in the car as a kid, which she always hated because she would end up at Blume’s company events. Jack was never one for telling her where they were going when she was younger, so she’d often wind up having to socialize with his work friends. This happened a lot when Rachel first left, probably because he was still trying to save face. The memory distracts her from her surroundings for a second which causes her to shudder a little, quickly regaining stability. She gasps and grabs onto the desk in front of her- wait, desk?

She picks her head up from where it was tucked in her other arm, hearing a slight laugh from someone next to her. It's Clara, sitting beside while working on her personal laptop. "You okay?" She asks her.

"How did I end up here?" Lidia groans, un-wedging herself from the cheap metal chair in front of the other set of monitors. She lets her legs finally drop to the ground, taking in the Bunker scenery around her. There’s an assortment of sounds and lights, stemming from the monitors and towers. It reminds her of the motel, giving her the same sense of a home-away-from-home. 

“Aiden put me on babysitting duty as you were falling asleep. You don’t remember that?” Clara responds, shifting in her chair to turn and face Lidia. The work she was focusing on wasn’t urgent, mostly just looking to see if there were any old recoverable files still on the machines. Some of the new hardware conflicted with the old too, and that had to be fixed before they could move on.

“Uh… no, no I don’t.” It dawns on Lidia how much she had to drink the night before, and how that ties to her sudden rest on the chair. She can’t remember if she fell asleep or if she passed out, and she’s hoping the first is true so she doesn’t make a fool out of herself. The Bunker is dark, so luckily Clara can’t see her embarrassed blush. 

“You were pretty wasted when you came inside. You both were, it’s a miracle you even made it down the stairs.” Clara sounds like she’s trying to hold back laughter. In reality, it was sweet of Aiden to care about Lidia though. It’s something that seems unexpected the longer Clara thinks about it. The media likes to portray him in a split light. Some people love him, others hate him. She wonders what articles would say if they knew about how close they are.

“Well, that’s Aiden alright. Miracle worker.” Lidia says as she groans, headache coming on. She should learn by now that she’s guaranteed a hangover with that much liquor in her, yet she doesn’t like to acknowledge it. In a way, she knows long nights of drinking never help, but she enjoys herself too much to really care. “Where is he anyways?” She sighs, looking around to notice he isn’t in the bed. The sheets are still tousled, so he obviously did sleep. She hopes Clara rested too, as they need her in her best shape, and then almost laughs at the irony. She should take her own advice.

Clara knows enough about Lidia to be able to tell that this isn’t her co-dependence showing, it’s worry. “He left already.” She knows it probably isn’t the answer she wants to hear, but it’s still the truth. “Said he wanted to wait for you but he needed to get going before it was too late.”

Lidia groans, louder this time as she face palms. “He’s gonna kill me.”

Clara laughs at her plight, thinking for a second how real that accusation might be if it wasn’t for their bond. Part of her wonders how many times he’s threatened her, and if there was ever a moment of clarity where she realised he would never hurt her. “Why do you say that?” 

“This is the second time this week I’ve overslept and he's left without me.” She sulks into her jacket sleeve again, feeling guilty. She always wants to help and she feels awful that he has to do most of the work these days. She also knows that he isn’t always keen to tell her every bit of information, which is why she likes being with him when he’s trying to do recon.

“He didn’t sound mad, Lidia.” Clara takes on a worried and motherly tone. It’s one Lidia hasn’t heard before, and she feels like a little sister getting comforted. “He just said he was going to let you sleep.” Can Clara tell that Lidia is upset with herself, or is she able to hide that well enough?

“This is Aiden we’re talking about. He’s the king of ‘he didn’t sound mad.” She decides to drop the thought, as it's too early to debate her emotions. Whether it’s just the fact that she’s starved for parental attention or not will be contemplated another day. She feels like she should be whispering even though they’re alone here.

“How did you get him like this anyways?” Clara still can’t shake the awareness about both of their personalities. It seems as if Lidia’s flaws contradict everything Aiden doesn’t like. Why would they stick around each other if she’s constantly getting on his nerves? 

“Like what?” Her voice is still groggy and tired, yet soft. She doesn’t want to make Clara worry, but she wants to answer her questions. She also doesn’t catch the tone of interrogation in her voice.

“Getting drunk until early hours of the morning and actually looking like he’s enjoying himself.” Aiden doesn’t seem like any sort of person who would have more than a couple beers, let alone getting almost blackout drunk with the daughter of Blume’s CFO.

“I don’t know. I mean, the first time was after this big mission that we fucked up.” Kinderhook. If there was a textbook “everything goes wrong” situation, it was then. It wasn’t just the hacking- the gunfight that wounded her, Aiden, and Jordi was probably the case closed stamp that marked that event as the worst group operation they’ve been on. “We drank to forget and I guess he just realised that it wasn’t my first rodeo.” She's fending off a headache, hoping eventually she'll figure out how to function while acting like it doesn't exist.

“He told me about your wild past. I guess I just never thought he’d join in on the festivities.” Lidia isn't exactly glad to hear this, but she decides she'll take what she can get. At least Clara didn't have to find out like this. She wonders, though, if her partying days are coming in handy now. It’s easy for her to stay up late and she feels no remorse about illegal things they get up to. 

“He wasn’t always this casual with me.” Lidia is not about to give Clara the wrong impression. Getting this close with Aiden was not a cakewalk, and especially not something she’d be willing to redo. She’s sure there’s been a couple moments when her snark has almost gotten her in major trouble. “This whole thing started out super shady. Honestly, he didn’t trust me for a while.” 

“I can't believe it.” Clara remarks sarcastically, a slight laugh escaping before she sighs. "I'm guessing he used the aggressive technique on you too."

Lidia can almost replay how he acted when they first met Clara. It still bugs her how he went for intimidation before anything else. She understands that they need to know who they’re working with, but does he really need to prove that before they even get to know a contact? "More or less. I think he eased up a little since I was so young, but whatever."

"You say that as if it was years ago." Clara has a hard time remembering that Lidia is still only 18. It feels a little like a sick joke- she shouldn’t have had to deal with all this at such a young age.

"It definitely feels like it.” Sometimes the days blur together for Lidia. Maybe there’s some merit to time flying when you’re having fun, because she feels like she’s known Aiden forever. “I feel like I'm lucky, though. He's given me every chance to escape."

“Yet you haven’t taken them. Honestly, I can’t understand why you’re still here.” There’s the motherly tone in Clara’s voice again, seeping through like an aftertaste. Clara feels like if she was in Lidia’s position, there would be nothing to gain.

“We’re very different people.” Lidia takes a deep breath to prepare to elaborate. “You probably look at all this like a burden on my shoulders, but it’s like a safety net for me.” 

“And the people you’ve killed… that doesn’t hurt you?” Clara’s voice is quieter, like she’s holding a secret from the wires and equipment. 

Lidia looks from her to the ground, obviously thinking about something. She tries not to remember the dead guards on the ground after certain times when things got rough, and she definitely is trying to forget the bright red stain on Angelo Tucci’s jacket. He had a family. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me. It does, I’ve just decided not to worry about it. I don’t wake up in the morning wanting to kill, so that’s enough confirmation to me that it’s not going to my head.”

“Yesterday was a murderous day, though.” Clara laughs slightly and Lidia joins, remembering the text she sent after the conversation with Jack. She needs to remember to text Harper about that later.

“Yeah, it was an exception. Jack really pissed me off.” Lidia doesn’t really like talking about her family problems, even though she does it a lot. It never gets easier to describe.

“More than usual? It seems like you’re never on good terms with him.” Clara doesn’t want to pry, she really doesn’t- but if Lidia is willing to share, she’s ready to absorb. 

“He was talking shit about Aiden to the CTO. I tried to say something and he just shut me down. I couldn’t do much defending otherwise I would have exposed all of this.” She gestures around to the Bunker. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything to begin with, but whatever.”

“Well, the media will never see him like we do. Especially anyone reporting from the side of Blume.” Clara is accepting something they both already know. It’s something that everyone has silently agreed upon.

“It just bugs me. I think he's a good person, he's just lost and scared like I was. WKZ would never report that side of the story.” Lidia shrugs her shoulders, aware that she probably spilled too much. “I mean, that’s the sense I get anyways. Like he does violent and erratic things to decide if this is really what he wants.” 

“And what do you want?” 

Clara’s question suddenly makes Lidia draw a blank. 

What does she want? Does she want to be a part of this life forever? Could she even handle it? She always said she wanted to make a difference- but maybe that’s changed. Maybe the difference she makes isn’t in a place, it’s in the people- like Aiden. Does she just want to be memorable? A story in some newspaper? The longer she thinks about it, the more she realises she just wants something to hold onto. 

Dedsec.

That’s it.

All she wanted was to be a part of the group that she looked up to. That was always her original dream, but it’s long since been buried by revenge and fear. So maybe she does want this life forever. Far away, where Jack can’t hurt her and she can influence younger people like her. Maybe making a dent in Blume isn’t as far off as it seems.

She gets distracted and somewhat shuts off from Clara for a second to collect her thoughts before answering. “I want to join Dedsec. Not with your help, but by my own design. I want to prove my worth in this community and actually do something against surveillance.”

Clara smiles proudly. “That’s an answer I can get behind.”

* * *

Aiden's telltale shoe scuffs sound as he walks out of the elevator and into the Bunker. Clara is at the bottom of the stairs, still looking through evidence on her computer. She seems to find things where no one is looking, and at this point, it won't hurt to have extra help. Lidia suddenly feels her arms start to give way. For whatever reason, her body decided that the best way for her to distract herself in regards to worrying about Aiden was to just move around the Bunker like a gymnast. Hoodie long since discarded on the couch, she had gotten herself to the catwalk overhang and was using her hands to shuffle across the edge when Aiden walked in, which completely broke her concentration. She jumps down from her spot, causing a loud creaking noise and a groan as she absorbs the impact. She stands quickly though, watching as he walks down the steps. There’s guilt on Lidia’s face, like she’s worried about what he’s going to say.

"Glad to see you're up." Aiden acknowledges, but he doesn't seem angry. Clara was being truthful when she said he wasn't upset with her.

"Yeah, sorry. I would have called earlier but-" She says, a little embarrassed to admit that she was afraid of getting ripped a new one. She starts to walk over to grab her jacket as a distraction.

Luckily, he cuts her off. "Led, it's fine. You were tired and I could handle it alone, no big deal." His reassurance still doesn't help. She internally vows to herself that she'll be more careful to avoid having to do this again. "I actually have a job for you. Think you can go grab something off of Jordi for me?"

She pulls her jacket back onto her shoulders, flexing different parts of her body that feel stiff after her jump. "Unless you're driving, I don't have a car here. But sure." 

"You can take mine, Lidia, I'm probably not leaving here for a while." Clara offers. 

Lidia nods in response, feeling a little better knowing Aiden is already giving her a new task. Then again, it worries her slightly. It seems to be a little quick compared to usual plans. "What for?"

“Look, Bedbug is gonna be ambushed. They're planning to kill him.” Aiden breaks the news, causing Lidia's shocked reaction in the form of her wheeling around to face him.

“Well that's not very helpful to us... is it?” She thinks for a moment, like maybe it might do something for them if handled correctly.

“Not at all.” Aiden crushes that thought.

“What do you want me to do?” She pulls her jacket onto her shoulders, looking between him and Clara.

“Go see Jordi at these coordinates, he has explosives for us.” He texts her the points quickly, causing her phone to buzz as she looks to Clara suspiciously. Is she not going to say anything about Aiden's plan? They barely even know what's going on and he's already resorting to violence again.

“We’re gonna ambush the ambush?” She decides if Clara won't say something, she will. She sits down on the couch close to them, off to the side of the monitors. She looks like she’s repulsed by the idea, but her voice shows no anger.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Aiden can sense already that she wants another way out of this. Just like with Tobias, she’s always looking for a talkative solution instead of a violent one. This time, though, he’s pretty sure there isn’t a way to use her social training. If the gang is going to kill Bedbug, there’s no way they can talk them out of it without exposing their plan or what they know.

“I’m just saying, I don’t think we’ll benefit by causing a scene.” That’s not her only point. While she’s nervous about drawing extra attention, she said before that she wants to help the people at Rossi-Fremont. She’s pretty sure planning an attack won’t help that at all. 

“If we do this right, they won’t know what hit them.” He’s not catching the worried tone behind her words. Then again, he’s adamant about this working anyways.

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” She crosses her arms. “I said I wanted to handle this. That doesn’t mean go in guns blazing.” Her body is pressed back into the couch, firmly standing her ground both physically and verbally.

“You said you wanted to handle Bedbug.” He’s protesting, not about to let her brush this off so quickly. “You never said anything about the gang members- which, by the way, are currently trying to kill him. If you want to help, this is certainly one way to do it.”

She seems to think about it for a moment before sighing. “Fine.” Mostly because she doesn’t feel like fighting with him while Clara is in vicinity. “But if this goes wrong-”

“Not your fault. Yeah, got it.” Aiden remarks as Clara tosses her car keys towards the couch. They land in Lidia’s lap and she pockets them. “You really think this will blow up in our faces?”

“It already has, Aiden. It did when we lost the motel.”

* * *

Lidia pulls into the back alleyway, spotting a green and old-looking ice cream truck. There’s a warehouse to her right, smoke coming from the vents and graffiti on the walls. An abandoned apartment building to the left has barrels surrounding it, pipes and awnings sticking out but long lost. It doesn’t matter how empty this place looks, there’s still that unsettling feeling that she’s being watched. Then again, there’s always someone watching in this city. 

She parks the car, keeping one hand on her gun as she approaches the van. She knows it’s only supposed to be Jordi inside, but after the stunt he pulled with Angelo, she isn't as trusting of him anymore. Even if it ultimately helped patch up her relationship with Aiden, he’s still the reason she got shot. 

Then again, is he really?

She knocks against the window that would usually be selling treats. It opens in a moment or so, bringing with it an awful smell that makes Lidia recoil and gag slightly. “What the hell is that?”

“Come take a look.” Jordi chides, shutting the opening.

She walks around the back of the truck as he opens it to reveal dead bodies stored in the ice cream freezer. They look mangled and bloody, like it wasn’t a usual clean hit. “Jesus Christ.” Multiple gunshot wounds adorn the corpses, blood spilling onto the metal floor.

“Yeah, I know. Not as good as I had hoped.” He fakes an over dramatic sigh as he sits on a metal step next to the cooler. “I need some help, I was hoping you could involve these guys in a gangland shooting of some sort. I’ve got a few loose ends I need to tie up and Aiden does owe me some favors.”

“Neither of us owe you anything.” She fires back. There’s a part of her that wishes she held back from a snarky response, but she’s too angry to care. First he pulls her into a hit that got her hurt, now he’s making demands?

He raises an eyebrow, looking at her very confused. “Someone’s not in a good mood today.”

The sheer tone of his voice sends her into a worse state. “Oh yeah? Try getting shot because the dumbass you trusted led you right into a trap.” She’s abandoned the hand on her gun, not wanting to give him any reason to lash out at her.

“Don’t you dare blame that on me. That wasn’t supposed to happen. You know I wouldn’t have done that to you.” Even though it sounds like an accusation, it doesn’t sound serious coming from him. Nothing he says sounds threatening to her, especially when he’s on a payroll.

“Oh, shut the fuck up. We both know you’re getting paid as a fixer, not a life coach. You shouldn’t have butted in to begin with.” Lidia crosses her arms, taking a defiant stance. “Just get me the bombs and I’m out of your way.”

Jordi groans, standing up and walking to the back of the van. “These two nutsacks are some unfinished business from a Gabonese job. You should’ve seen the way that they tried to take me out.” Lidia is completely disinterested in his story, and it’s almost sad really- she used to love hearing about the idiocies he’d get up to. But now, she just wants to get this over with, not hear some exaggerated tale of a car chase. “I’m driving this beast of a muscle car, right out of the seventies, you know when an automobile accident was still called a fucking car crash.” He pauses as he grabs a box of explosives and carries it towards the entrance. “I mean, I guess you’re too young for any of that, but yeah. So these geniuses here think they're gonna ram me off the road with some plastic eco-friendly shitbug, but it just makes this weird ‘ping!’ and bounces off into a parked van.” He leans out the truck and pushes the box into her hands. “Here, hold that.”

She rolls her eyes and backs up with the box, allowing him to step off the edge of the van. He then takes the box from her again, moving to set it down a ways away. “This is what he wanted, I believe. Sticky bombs.” He takes a bomb out of the box before sticking it to the van. 

“You couldn’t have just given me that before the long story?” Lidia complains, rolling her shoulders. “Whatever. Just show me how they work.”

Jordi gestures to the bomb on the car. “It sticks. See?” He’s sarcastically showing off like she’s never seen an explosive before.

Lidia raises an eyebrow. “Huh. So I guess I just connect to the wiring and-” She pulls her phone out and pretends to hack into the small detonator on the bomb.

“What the hell?!” He takes off in the opposite direction of the bomb in case she’s about to detonate it, causing her to laugh and show him the blank screen on her phone.

“The look on your face was so worth it. And I found the signal on my own, thank you.” She remarks back, grinning like she just played the best joke in the world.

He scoffs, rolling his eyes at her antics. At this point, the conjoined annoyance is enough to prove that they’re not on the same terms as they were before. “Whatever, just-” He looks to the ice cream truck like he’s about to explain his plan, but he then stops and glances between her and the vehicle. “Oh, wait. This is perfect. Let me get out of here and you can use that as a test run.”

Lidia is about to protest, but she gets about half a word out before Jordi is already trying to get away. She definitely thinks about firing a warning shot in his direction, but it occurs to her that she’s still in a somewhat populated area and there’s a good chance there would be consequences. Instead, she walks back over to the truck to inspect the bomb. The enclosed weapons have wires tangled around them to keep together but also give the signal to charge up and fire. Lidia is able to hack into the small device easily, and she backs up just to be safe. Looking around for cover, she decides that the car parked away will be far enough to keep her safe. She arms the device to explode before climbing onto the trunk to get a good view of the explosion. Should she be behind the car instead of on top of it? Probably, but she wants to see how much damage can be done and gauge safe distances. After a couple moments of scouting to make sure she isn’t going to cause more damage or a large scene (besides, y’know, something exploding), she presses the button on her phone to detonate the explosive.

The loud boom resonates through the corridor, making Lidia’s ears ring as heat quickly hits her. The truck rocks a little before tearing into fiery pieces of metal with large smoke plumes rising up. Her own car rocks a little, forcing her to lean with it to restabilize herself. Nothing around the cars seems to be damaged, and the demolition clearly destroyed the bodies Jordi needed to cover up, so her job here is done. She climbs down from the trunk, walking back to the box of explosives Jordi had set off to the side. Unlocking the car and shoving the bombs inside the glove compartment is no issue, and she tosses the cardboard holder into the fire when she’s done for good measure. She watches the flames a little longer, feeling a weird weight on her shoulders the longer she stands there. Is it the people burning inside? Is it the ambush she’s attending to? She isn’t sure, and before long she can hear sirens as a telltale sign that the police are coming to investigate the explosion. Her body works on autopilot, getting her into the car and driving out of the area before she can even start to process this plan.

* * *

Lidia is down the highway at a stoplight when the fact that she has illegal explosives in the glovebox finally registers with her. The thought makes her pull out her phone and call Aiden, wanting to get rid of them as quickly as possible. “I got what we need.”

_“You don’t sound too sure of that.”_ He doesn’t need to see the look on her face to know she still doesn’t like this idea. 

“Well, I did just blow up an ice cream truck with dead bodies in it, so yeah, maybe I’m not too sure.” She retorts, laughing slightly. She wishes she could be as emotionally detached from this situation as he is, but it just gets on her nerves how intense the web of clues has become. 

_“You did what? And without me?”_ He fakes offense, knowing she probably won’t tell him what’s wrong. Or if she does, he already knows, considering her annoyance at the plan this morning.

“Long story. Jordi permanently fucked up our friendship by being a prick.” She complains back, making Aiden roll his eyes. Lidia is too quick to trust sometimes, which is ironic given how cautious she usually is.

_“Led, Jordi wasn’t your friend to begin with. He wasn’t mine either, and for the record, he’s been a prick since long before I hired him.”_ Back at the bunker, Clara gives Aiden a glance with a raised eyebrow. She points to the phone and gives a thumbs up, looking like she’s confused- asking if Lidia is okay. Aiden just shrugs and shakes his head in response.

Lidia sighs, saying something she’s expecting to regret. “This used to be so easy.”

Aiden furrows his brow. _“What’s that supposed to mean?”_

“I mean, think about it.” She starts to articulate her thoughts before stopping and sighing again. “Nevermind. Forget it, it’s not important. We need to get this figured out.”

_“I told you before, it matters. You know I don’t handle emotions but if you need to step out of this situation, you’re welcome to.”_

She fights the urge to tell him anything that would hint at her discomfort. It feels like all she does now is complain- whether it be about the task at hand or something she should have done. “It just seemed so easy before. We’d find information and make our own lead. Now we’ve got fixers, and Dedsec, and Rossi-Freemont. It’s just a lot to handle, but nothing I can’t do. That’s all, I’m fine.” 

He doesn’t believe her, he really doesn’t. But pushing for an answer under high pressure probably isn’t the best idea. _“Fair enough. I know you don’t like this plan, and I honestly wish there was a better way to do this.”_

“Then answer me this question.” Lidia swallows hard, preparing herself for what she’s going to say. “I never want to talk about it again, I don’t want to even bring it up in remote closeness, but I need to know. Are we clear?”

_“Crystal. What’s wrong?”_ He ducks off to the side of the Bunker, trying to be a little quieter. He’s pretty sure it wouldn’t be a problem if Clara heard, but Lidia sounds really serious about this.

“Clara asked me this morning if the people we kill affects me.” She doesn’t give her own response, but she continues. “Does it affect you?”

_“Sounds like you already have your answer, so you first.”_ He's stalling, and way more worried about why she’s bringing this up.

She quietly groans, knowing he would turn it back around on her but still continuing on. “Every damn day. I’ve taught myself not to look at the family tab in the Profiler because I don’t want to know who I’m hurting.” It sounds like she’s forcing the words out in fear of not being able to say them. “Now you.”

_“It does.”_ He pauses like he needs a second to process what she just asked him. He honestly does. _“Of course it affects me. Sometimes I think Lena would be scared of me if she knew what I did.”_

Lidia takes a deep breath, and it feels like the first one she’s taken all day. “Okay.”

_“That’s it? Deep conversation for one word?”_ He was half expecting her to launch into some large explanation of why she’s constantly fighting her own morals or why she’s so unsure of the ambush, but instead there’s only a simple response.

“I had to be sure.” Her voice is quieter now- she doesn’t want to admit what she just implied.

_“You doubted me?”_

No response.

_“Don’t answer that, Led. It’s fine. Are you heading back here with the explosives?”_

She nods, but then remembers he can’t see her. “Yeah. Then we can figure everything out.”

_“Change of plans. Meet me at the warehouse they’re going to hit Bedbug at, we need to scope things out to plan beforehand.”_

He hangs up with nothing else, leaving Lidia to wonder if he meant what he said about her doubts. It isn’t that she doubted him, it’s just that the realization worried her more than she’d like to tell him. He’s an interesting person to open up to- a wonderful listener, but she isn’t always sure if anything she says resonates with him.


	15. author's note- slight hiatus

hi loves!! as of recent a LOT of shit has been going on in my personal life and i decided im gonna just,,,,,, take a hiatus instead of trying to force myself to get a chapter out. im only expecting to be gone maybe this month, so hopefully ill have an august upload ready!!

with everything going on in the world too, here's some petitions you can sign and resources!!!- https://twitter.com/ghostinliz/status/1278082676176621570?s=19

stay safe everyone <3


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